Daily Times

The coincidence that the general elections were held so close to the Independence Day contains a message that Pakistan was founded with the will of the people, and the ballot will decide the country’s destiny, President Mamnoon Hussain said on Tuesday.

The president was addressing a ceremony at the Jinnah Convention Centre to mark the 72nd Independence Day celebrations. Caretaker Prime Minister Justice retired Nasirul Mulk, three services chiefs, members of the federal cabinet, parliamentarians, foreign diplomats, students and a large number of people attended the event.

The president’s address focused on the need to strengthen the democratic tradition. He maintained that on July 25, the people of Pakistan had once again shown that only those elected by them could claim to be their representatives.

Referring to the electoral reforms put in place ahead of the elections, the president said that the government and the opposition parties had worked together diligently to enact reforms giving extensive powers to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). However, he said, if some segments of the society still felt dissatisfied with the electoral process, it was the duty of the Commission to address their concerns. This was needed to give confidence to the electorate that its decisions on state affairs would never be compromised, he added. “The desire for an independent, self-sufficient, strong, and developed Pakistan can be fulfilled only in this way,” he said.

The president said that general elections held so far had been marred with terrorist attacks, especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He added, “We salute the Pakistani nation who has defeated [sic] the menace of terrorism with its passion and perseverance, and ensured successful holding of general elections. We pray to the Almighty and pay rich tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the fight against terrorism.”

In what was possibly a reference to laws passed during military dictatorships like the National Accountability Ordinance of 1999, the president observed that only those laws could be deemed fair which were enacted with complete honesty, sincerity and hard work by the elected representative of the people. “History tells us that laws made in accordance with the people’s wishes are the only ones that become successful and are accepted by the people,” he said, adding that the biggest advantage of such laws was that they did not resources and force for their implementation.

The president continued and said that an objective of establishing Pakistan was to enable the people to live freely in accordance with their beliefs, as well as to eliminate all kinds of exploitation by providing citizens with their basic rights. Though the country had made progress in that direction in the past 70 years, it had yet to fully achieve these targets, the president said, adding that there was a need to focus on the causes and hurdles that had prevented the nation from achieving the aims.

The president also discussed the issue of Kashmir, highlighting the historic sacrifices of the Kashmiri people. Reiterating political and moral support to the Kashmiris till resolution of the issue in accordance with the United Nations resolutions, he said Pakistan appreciated the international leaders and human rights organisations who had supported the freedom movement in Indian-occupied Kashmir and condemned the gross human rights atrocities in the Valley. The president called upon the international community to listen to their conscience and raise their voice in support of the legitimate rights of Kashmiris.

He said a broad consensus was needed to ensure that all national development objectives were met in time, adding that all segments of the society would have to work in unison for the purpose. “From the head of the state to a farmer and a labourer, it is our responsibility that we should accord it utmost priority like other necessities of life so that all doubts and speculations about the existence, objectives and future of Pakistan are put to an end,” he said. Regarding the role of the youth, he recognised that there was a generational gap between the people who struggled for Pakistan and the younger generation, but added that it was a matter of satisfaction that the new generation had a lot of love for their country and sincere desires to make it progressive and prosperous.

“National days are celebrated to remind the people, especially the coming generations, about the national causes and the efforts made to achieve them. However, if the thought and philosophy behind such days is ignored, ceremonies like flag hoisting on these occasions become routine exercises,” he cautioned.

The president said Pakistan was founded with great struggle and huge sacrifices, and now it was the duty of the younger generations to model it according to the dreams of their ancestors. In order to achieve the goal, he emphasized, there was a need to establish cordial relations, harmony and brotherhood among different segments of the society.

In his message on the occasion, Caretaker PM Mulk said that August 14 was a reminder of the ‘epic democratic struggle of our forefathers’ to secure a separate homeland for Muslims of the Sub-continent where they could fashion their lives in accordance with their religious, cultural and social values. He urged the nation to follow the founding father’s principles of unity, faith and discipline to overcome challenges and to make ‘Pakistan a self-reliant, economically vibrant and a prosperous country’.

Published in Daily Times, August 15^th 2018.