Pakistan Day: The spirit of Pakistan Movement is alive and kicking

Social media has a role to play by soliciting international interest and investment for a buoying polity

Pakistan's quest to become a pluralistic society and exterminate extremism is never lost on its polity. The happenings on its domestic front for the last couple of years, in the form of war on terrorism, have simply furthered the envelope. The nation of 190 million people is progressive and believes in egalitarianism. Time and again it has shunned prejudice, and never let the ugly head of sectarian and lingual consideration take roots in the society. This is what makes it unique in essence and capable of rising to the occasion, as and when demanded. Despite socio-economic problems, as any other developing state, Pakistan has a vision to move on, and realise the cherished desires of its founding fathers. Today is the day to revisit that objective, and reaffirm ourselves to the glory of the nation and strive for an invincible Pakistan.
National days are an opportunity to sit back and reflect over the achievements, and at the same time reinvigorate a new spirit for the future. That is how organic nations evolve themselves into articulate and legendary entities. The good point is that Pakistanis are a resilient nation, they always endeavour for a bright future, keeping in view the potential and conviction with which the nation has survived the thick and thin of its existence. Pakistan has progressed despite all odds, and that is no less than a befitting tribute to a young enterprising nation. The fact that more than 60 per cent of its populace is below 25 years, it is no less than a treasure when valued in terms of capability and productivity.
The credit for shunning narrow-mindedness and thinking big despite all odds, nonetheless, should go to its civil society and its quick-witted workforce. Every new challenge it faces, it moulds the nation for a new beginning, and it gets going in no point of time. This has led to nation building, especially in the midst of terrorism that the nation had to fight for such a long time. The polity of Pakistan is full of dynamics and the evolution of representative culture is a feather in its cap.
The Father of the Nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, believed in a liberal and forward-looking decorum, and six decades down the line, Pakistanis have done all they can to keep at bay the sense of otherness. Despite all the limitations of good governance, there is no looking back for the nation, and there is no pause to the evolutionary system in vogue.
A typical aspect of the nation is that its spirit of nationalism and the peaceful teachings of the great religion are interrelated. This has evolved Pakistan into a country for all without any ethnic and religious considerations. Though a heterogeneous Muslim country, its head and heart is open and liberal in essence.
Jinnah had said that Pakistan shall never be a theocratic state. That ideal has been kept high to this day and the trends of extremism successfully thwarted. The military-led operation, Zarb-e-Azb, is a confirmation of the national psyche that it will not give into to extremism and Talebanisation. Today the resolution of the nation is to exterminate militarism from the body politick of the country, and cleanse it of corrupt and opportunist elements. That is how developed states had evolved, and the examples of Britain, the United States and many of the Asian republics is a case in point. Until and unless there is a soul-searching desire to put the house in order, no nation progresses. Pakistanis are exactly doing the same.
The fact that Pakistani legends in science, international bureaucracy, arts and music are being recognised, is an accomplishment in itself for a young nation. Pakistan has learnt to live with its neighbours and is now in more harmony and conformity than in its initial years of geopolitical turmoil. Pakistan today forms the cobweb of economic lifeline for the region and expanded trade and commerce with Iran, Central Asia, China, the Gulf states and even up to Russia and, of course, has reactivated its geographic and cultural proximity to India. Islamabad looks up to the major powers, like the United States and European Union, to lend it with a helping hand in alleviating itself out of poverty and fighting the faceless enemy in the form of terrorism.
Pakistan is in need of a Marshal Plan to bury its budget deficit and throw open the country on the modern lines of transparent business. The world comity has a role to play in such an endeavour. Pakistan's rise and stability is directly linked to the peace and security of the region, and beyond.
Pakistan has a smart constituency of around 100 million youth who are moderate and adaptable. It is here that social media has a role to play, by soliciting international interest and investment for a buoying polity. Pakistan deserves a 'New Deal' and 'Renaissance' of sorts to rise and lead from the front.
While the nation celebrates its 76th Republic Day, it is a moment to resolve to make the country a hub of peace and development in the region. Remembering March 23, 1940, invokes the pride of the Muslims of the subcontinent who rose from the shallows of degeneration through a phase of trial and error to ask for a nation-state to uphold the ideals of liberty, sovereignty and development.
Today is the day to remember Nawab Waqarul Mulk, Dr Muhammad Iqbal, Raja Sahib Mehmoodabad, the Isphahanis and the Habibs of the yesteryears who selflessly committed themselves and their belongings to build a dynamic nation state. They were practical to the core and believed in opportunities for all without any bias. That was the beauty of Pakistan Movement, which we should recast in our national lives.
More than seven decades down the line, the spirit of Pakistan Movement is alive and kicking. Pakistan is impregnable. The birth of Pakistan was a result of a mass movement, and this inertia is still there to be ignited.
Today is the day to remember Nawab Waqarul Mulk, Dr Muhammad Iqbal, Raja Sahib Mehmoodabad, the Isphahanis and the Habibs of the yesteryears, who selflessly committed themselves and their belongings to build a dynamic nation state.
- mehkri@khaleejtimes.com 

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