Daily Times

Name of the Book: Foundational Thoughts of Pakistan Movement

Publisher: Hilal Publications, ISPR Directorate, Rawalpindi

Publication Year: March 2019

Price: Rs. 500

Facing the challenge of a hybrid war, the Inter Services Public Relations has been alive to its responsibility to protect the country’s ideological frontiers. The publication of Foundational Thoughts of Pakistan Movement, launched on March 23, 2019, is another effort in this direction.

Today, as war has taken more of a non-conventional form, one can’t afford to be oblivious to the alarming fact that the youth are its primary target. The battlefronts in the new war are popular social media websites.

The book is meant to meet the needs of the youth bombarded with deceptive narratives about the country’s ideological foundations.

Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, the Inter Services Public Relations director general, writes in the preface: “Pakistan existed in the hearts and minds centuries ago.” He argues that Pakistan was not created 72 years ago, out of nowhere. Rather it had been a cherished desire for millions of people who had lived in the region for centuries.

The compilation of speeches, addresses and statements by the founding fathers tells the story of how Pakistan came into being. The book comprises Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s Genesis of the Two Nation Theory, Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s constructive interpretation of Islam, the correspondence between Allama Iqbal and Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and some rarely published original version of speeches made by the latter.

The unabridged speeches made by Father of the Nation are most valuable part of the book. His famous August 11, 1947, speech outlines a clear path. Quaid-e-Azam spoke clearly setting the objectives for the new state, highlighting the social ills and calling for tolerance and peaceful co-existence among all communities

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s Two Nation Theory provides the early context. Those who doubt its validity may find it useful to read about the context in detail. This way, the book is an answer to all those who challenge the primacy of the Two Nation Theory.

The part of the book highlighting the efforts of Allama Iqbal includes his famous presidential address at Allahabad session of the All-India Muslim League.

The unabridged speeches made by Father of the Nation are most valuable part of the book. His famous August 11, 1947, speech outlines a clear path. Quaid-e-Azam spoke clearly setting the objectives for the new state, highlighting the social ills and calling for tolerance and peaceful co-existence among all communities

The Birth of A Nation is the last part of the book. It includes some memorable quotations or parts of statements by Jinnah.

Foundational Thoughts of Pakistan Movement comes across as a shield to be given in the hands of the youth so that they may not be distracted or misguided. This book takes the young on a journey of history. It also provides them with the context of relevant historical events.

The book is bound to be useful for teachers as well as students of Pakistan’s history. It is an organised compilation with references cited systematically.

Foundational Thoughts of Pakistan Movement is another praiseworthy effort by Hilal Publications, led by Brig Tahir Mehmood Abbasi.

The writer is a freelancer