Daily Times

Azad Jammu & Kashmir on Wednesday celebrated 145th birth anniversary of the poet of the East Allama Dr. Muhammad Iqbal to work shoulder to shoulder to make the country a true forward-looking Muslim state. It was a public holiday throughout Azad Jammu Kashmir State to mark the day with full respect and honor through paying rich tributes to the ancient Kashmir-origin poet philosopher.

The world-fame poet of the east was born on November 9th in 1877 in a middle-class family at ancient Kashmiri Mohalla in Sialkot city. The day dawned with special prayers in the mosques for the solidarity, integrity and prosperity of Pakistan and for the freedom of all the Muslim homelands including occupied Jammu & Kashmir and Palestine .

Various cultural, political and social organizations held meetings and seminars in various parts of the liberated territory to highlight the services rendered by the great visionary of 20th century. People from various parts of AJK including Mirpur visited the ‘Mazaar e – Iqbal’ in Lahore Wednesday morning and laid a wreath to pay homage to Poet of the East. They also offered Fateha and prayed for prosperity and solidarity of the country. In Mirpur, the birth anniversary was celebrated with zeal and fervor. The day was marked with a special ceremony held here Wednesday morning in Mirpur Campus of International Islamic University Islamabad School presided over by its Principal Mrs. Ayesha Imran.

It was attended by the school children besides the academic staff and the parents. The school children presented tableaus depicting Iqbal’s message to the young generation of Pakistan through his high caliber poetry with advise to the youth to emerge as the quality future architects of the live nation. Addressing the ceremony, speakers including the seasoned academician and school’s principal Mrs. Ayesha Imran, Vice Principal Mrs. Mariya Attique and others said that the best way to pay rich tribute to the poet philosopher is to follow and act upon the message he gave through his poetry of high caliber to our young generation to raise to the sky high for emerging Pakistan as the progressive, prosperous and developed nation.

A similar ceremony was also held under the auspices of the NGO Jinnah Foundation Jammu & Kashmir State with its Chairman Dr. Amin Chaudhry in the chair to pay rich tribute to the vision of Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal in addition to highlighting his life and services for an ideological Muslim state in this part of the world. The ceremony was largely attended by the city elite besides various segments of the civil society including the intellect class who paid glorious tributes to the poet philosopher who versioned the emergence of separate homeland of the Muslims of the Sub-continent the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Similar other functions and seminars were also reported from other towns of AJK to celebrate the birth day of the poet of the east. Most of the functions were hosted by managements of the local schools and colleges and literary organization to celebrate the birth anniversary of Allama Iqbal. All the three radio stations of Azad Jammu Kashmir including Mirpur, Muzaffarabad and Tararkheil and AJK tv aired special programmes, right from the advent of dawn, with special emphasis on life and services of the great poet.

The AJK state print and electronic media also brought out special supplements on this occasion. Several organizations, delegations and citizens paid rich tributes and offered Fateh for the departed soul of Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal in the ceremonies held throughout the day.