Daily Times

The 146^th birth anniversary of our beloved Quaid-e-Azam was celebrated with national zeal and fervour on the 25^th of December, 2022. We revere Quaid e Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah as one of the most remarkable men in history who carved out a nation-state on the world map based on a distinct ideology. The locus of his ideology for Pakistan rested on the anvil of Islamic tenets. It was not a state for the Muslims only but a state for all, guided and governed by the principles of Islam. Morality, decency, magnanimity and equality were the principles enshrined and envisaged by our Quaid for the newly-born state. He stressed unity, faith and discipline as his key values. Apparently, these are mere three words yet carry a massive interpretation within.

Unity demands a nation to stand together in the face of any challenge that the country is subjected to. It is not necessarily a challenge that is posed by another state but the problems that haunt the very existence of a state also demand togetherness by a nation. Today we face challenges which are distinct from the past. Our country is facing acute economic problems which merit a collective approach to negotiate. We all have to be mindful of the prevailing economic condition of the country which is affecting the majority of Pakistanis, especially the poor masses. Time dictates that we should take appropriate measures and save our country from further damage. This especially calls for a positive outlook and avoiding unnecessary rumours that the country is heading towards default or bankruptcy. On the contrary, we are witnessing that different segments of society especially from the political elite spread baseless rumours which are hurting the country’s reputation and the economic downturn may get severe. There is a gross demand for being united here, which can be best understood only if we keep Pakistan’s interest supreme.

Likewise, faith the second cardinal point of Quaid’s vision also demands that we should have faith in our nation, ourselves and the systems that we are running in the country. The Constitution of Pakistan provides us with direction in which we should advance to protect our sovereignty. It is the epic document that needs to be upheld in all circumstances. The Constitution delineates the responsibilities of each State institution and protects their sanctity. Abusing these State institutions is akin to breaching the provisions of the Constitution. It’s very usual nowadays for individuals to blame and abuse State institutions blatantly and repeatedly. The institutions that are guarantors of our sovereignty suffer this humiliation at the hands of a few who are more concerned about their personal agendas than the country’s overall interest.

The third and most important pillar of Quaid’s ideology is discipline, which encompasses everything that is required for a society to sustain itself in harmony. Mutual respect, legal bounds, social justice and equity all hail from discipline. With discipline, it is expected that every individual in society shall respect the rights of others. Also, morality and decency should govern daily life and politics in the country. It is however unfortunate that the political elite of Pakistan today have resorted to using of debauched approach towards their opponents. Not only the language being used is condemnable but also the style of subjugating opponents is absolutely unacceptable. The Quaid was never that noxious against his rivals and always dealt them with tactfulness and wisdom. Those traits are alas found missing in our leadership today.

Today the popularity of social media is exponentially high. The flow of information is therefore simply unstoppable. Social media is mostly followed by youth and Pakistan has more than 60% of them. Our leaders must be aware of the fact that their followers are mostly youngsters who have easy access to social media. Political leaders, therefore, need to take heed of the situation and have to be cautious in their handling of information. They are the role models for their followers and breeding immorality, indecency, meanness and inequality are not going to do any good to the country.

(The writer works as Communication Strategist at the Institute of Regional Studies and can be reached at reema.asim81@gmail.com)