Daily Times

Pakistan Day was celebrated on March 23, 2019 with full zeal and enthusiasm, amid military tensions created by India, reminded the Pakistani nation that it has to work harder to pull Pakistan out of its weak economic situation and to make it economically and militarily stronger. We must be a state that could blunt future foreign political and economic pressures and military coercion by our eastern neighbour. The Day motivated the people of Pakistan to work with a renewed commitment to preserve Pakistan’s identity, and culture as a Muslim state, as was envisioned by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. That they have to defend Pakistan’s integrity and sovereignty as an independent nation. It also reminded the people that they have to create a harmonious society by protecting each others’ rights irrespective of the religion, caste and creed. Also, they have to contribute towards economic progress and prosperity of Pakistan, to make it economically self reliant and end the poverty, that will also help create social harmony in the country.

March 23 reminded the elected representatives of the people in the parliament and the ministers and other members of successive governments in Pakistan to strengthen democracy by upholding the Islamic traditions of honesty and impartiality. That they have to work with utter devotion and dedication to establish a strong justice system in the country by making appropriate laws and also work to end corruption and bribery through the establishment of a just and impartial accountability system and uprooting nepotism.

The Pakistan Day reminded the members of Pakistan judiciary, members of the lawyers’ community, and police to consistently work for providing quick justice, ensuring the fair play, rule of law and protection of basic rights of the people of Pakistan Their combined objective should be to create a strict justice system to ensure that basic rights of every individual in the country are protected and the occurrence of the crime is reduced to a bare minimum level.

Our elected representatives have to work with utter devotion and dedication to establish a strong justice system in the country by making appropriate laws and also work to end corruption and bribery through the establishment of a just and impartial accountability system and uprooting nepotism

March 23 reminded the government functionaries, the diplomats, the economic managers and the armed forces of Pakistan to make the country self reliant in the economic and defence fields to guard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. That the armed forces should keep them well equipped, technologically updated, trained and ever ready to defend Pakistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty against India’s threats as a hegemonic power, which is bent upon harming Pakistan in many ways. In this context, apart from maintaining the nuclear deterrence, the armed forces also need to maintain sufficient deterrence in the conventional field to blunt enemy’s limited air or ground operations as was done on February 27, 2019 by shooting down two Indian aircraft.

Pakistan Day reminded Pakistan’s economic managers that they should work for making Pakistan’s economy self reliant by using the CPEC related regional connectivity, trade benefits and foreign direct investment. The objectives should be to take the country out of debt, enhance its economic growth by focusing on the industrial and agricultural development, development of tourism and enhancing trade. The economic self reliance and prosperity, thus achieved will facilitate national harmony, exercise of the sovereignty, maintenance of a strong defence force and end poverty.

The Pakistan Day celebrations also helped Pakistan in building its international image by projecting the Pakistani nation as a lively, tolerant and dynamic society, which has a resolve to work for making Pakistan a vibrant, progressive, modern and a stronger country in all fields. The Day also provided an opportunity to Pakistan to project that it is a peace loving and militarily strong country and is full of avenues for attracting foreign investment in many areas like tourism, industry, agriculture, mining, energy production, infrastructure building, and the construction of water storage dams etc.

In fact, Pakistan Day reminded the entire Pakistani nation to work hard with honesty and dedication to strengthen the state in all fields, including upholding of its Islamic identity, ideals, and traditions of justice, and fair play, and create a society free of corruption, bribery, nepotism, crime, inefficiency and disrespect to others rights, to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state as enshrined in Islamic jurisprudence and was emphasized by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The Day also reminded that everybody in Pakistan should be provided with the social justice and equal economic opportunities to earn their livelihood.The Pakistan Day celebrated amid military tensions with India also reminded that Pakistan has to be an economically and militarily a self reliant and strong country to withstand foreign pressures and respectfully play its positive role in the existing and evolving South Asian economic and strategic environment.

The writer is an ex-Army Colonel, a former Research Fellow of Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), Islamabad and Senior Research Fellow, Strategic Vision Institute, Islamabad