All are ready to celebrate the 146th birthday of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah a charismatic leader on December 25 (Sunday) across the country with pledges to uphold his guiding principles of unity, faith, and discipline. The whole nation is busy in the arrangements to celebrate the birth anniversary of the father of the nation with traditional enthusiasm and passion by paying rich tributes to him for his persistent struggle, sagacity and leadership that led to the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of sub-continent.

The national flag will be hoisted on major government buildings throughout the country on the birth anniversary of the founder of Pakistan. The day will dawn with special prayers for the security, progress and affluence of the country. Public and private departments will hold a variety of events including seminars, conferences, competitions and discussion programs to highlight the messages and dream of Quaid-e-Azam. Special events will be arranged on the day to highlight and encourage the ideals and visions of the father of the nation, particularly with regard to rule of law, the supremacy of the constitution, and the upholding of democracy

Jinnah was a charismatic leader of the Muslims in the crisis-ridden decade of 1937-47, as India advanced towards freedom and independence. The Muslims were confronted with an increasingly difficult and distressful situation. To begin with, there was the old, perennial Hindu-Muslim problem. Jinnah came to know through his vision that the best way to protect the rights of Indian Muslims was the partition of sub-continent. In 1940, he first suggested the idea of the partition of India to create Pakistan and led negotiations with the British government. This resulted in the partition of India and the creation of the state of Pakistan on August 14th 1947.

Jinnah was a political giant of the sub-continent. Jinnah’s fascination with the world of politics started from his early days in London. Upon returning to India, Jinnah entered the world of politics as a Liberal nationalist and joined the Congress despite his father’s fury at his abandoning the family business. The 20th annual session of the Congress in December 1904, was the first attended by Jinnah in Bombay.

Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a true and upright leader whose devotion and committed efforts resulted in the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Sub-continent. He with his leadership qualities and his vision changed the shape of the world. The new generation should make Quaid-e-Azam their role model and follow his principles. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a lawyer and politician and served as leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until Pakistan’s independence on 14 August 1947, and then as Pakistan’s first Governor-General until his death on September 11, 1948.

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah not only won a separate homeland for Muslims living in the Subcontinent but also identified the core issues that confronted the new state and needed to be addressed on a priority basis. He remained focused on identifying how Pakistan could be made happier and more prosperous. In his address to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, he said that the first duty of the state was to uphold law and order so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its citizens were completely protected. He observed that bribery and corruption were poison and should be put down with a firm hand. He also identified black-marketing, nepotism and jobbery as the other ills afflicting society, which had to be eliminated.

Unlucky that even after more than seven decades of independence, we as a nation have failed the national vision of the founder of Pakistan and to implement the priorities drawn by him. All the ills identified by him have made profound inroads into our national life and it is time to put Pakistan on the road to prosperity. Our past civilian and military rulers have largely worked to perpetuate the ancient colonial system of governance with inbuilt avenues of corruption and entitlement which has the national fabric of Pakistan.

As a respectable and sovereign nation we should correct our fault lines on a priority basis, which could be done by rediscovering our national philosophy and the way we were supposed to follow in regard to the consolidation of gains of independence and economic prosperity with the commandants of Allah Almighty highlighted in the holy Quran and Sunnah.