ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said the ideology of national poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal demands ensuring democratic norms in the country to transform it into an Islamic welfare state. In his message on the birth anniversary of Allama Iqbal, the Prime Minister said it was the joint responsibility of the government and the people to contribute towards national development in accordance with Iqbal’s ideology. The Prime Minister said, “Iqbal is a luminous star at our national horizon, who guided us at a time when the nation had lost its way.” Iqbal through his poetry not only rejuvenated the spirit among the Muslims of South Asia for their movement but also provided them the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah who made “the impossible possible,” he added. The Prime Minister said Pakistan owed a debt of gratitude towards Allama Iqbal, who dreamt for the establishment of this land. He mentioned that Allama Iqbal in his address at Allahabad presented the roadmap of a secure future for Muslims of South Asia and also pointed the ideological challenges the new State could face. The Prime Minister said Iqbal emphasised on following the Islamic traditions of Ijtehad, which could prove helpful in finding ways to restructure political, social and economic institutions of the country. Today, it is important that we resolve economic issues in line with the vision of Iqbal and transform Pakistan into an Islamic welfare state, he added. “We can still seek guidance from Iqbal’s vision on the issues of sectarianism and ideological extremism,” he said. The Prime Minister said Iqbal regarded the parliament as the modern alternate of ‘Ijmaa’ and advised the Muslims to establish institutions on the basis of collective wisdom. He said Iqbal was of the view that the opinion of a common man should be considered important in state affairs. In this way, a democratic state can be ensured in accordance with the vision of Iqbal. He regretted that for a longer period of time, a common man’s views and participation was denied in the country. This resulted in bifurcation of a state which had come into being on the basis of Iqbal’s ideology, he added. The Prime Minister said Allama Iqbal in a letter to Quaid-e-Azam had pointed out the economic problems faced by Muslims. He said that in Iqbal’s view, partition was a guarantee to a peaceful Indian sub-continent. “The establishment of Pakistan is a blessing which provides guidance about averting cultural and political confrontation,” he said. The Prime Minister said, “If we take guidance from Iqbal’s view with regard to South Asia, it can result into regional peace.”