PM urges nation to follow in footsteps of Quaid for progress, prosperity

Shehbaz emphasizes need to follow Jinnah’s principles to ensure equality, religious freedom in Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called on the nation to follow the principles of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in order to ensure the progress and prosperity of Pakistan.

In a message on the occasion of the 146th birth anniversary of the founder of Pakistan, Shehbaz said the whole nation was celebrating with patriotic fervour and zeal.

He highlighted that Jinnah had fought for the rights of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent and their separate social, economic, political, and cultural identity in the international community. Jinnah’s struggle, according to Sharif, was against the idea of a majority group denying the rights of minorities based on numerical superiority.

The prime minister said that Jinnah’s efforts were directed not only towards the creation of a separate, independent state for Muslims, but also towards a state in which minorities lived without fear or danger, and were given equal opportunities for development and complete religious freedom.

He pointed out that due to rising religious animosity and the ideology of extremist Hindutva, India has failed to protect the rights of minorities, making Jinnah’s foresight and arguments for the two-nation theory even more evident.

Shehbaz emphasized that the Pakistani nation should follow Jinnah’s thoughts and principles, and stressed that in Jinnah’s Pakistan, no group would have superiority based on language, class, religion, or numerical strength.

“The Constitution of Pakistan truly represented the 14 points of Quaid-e-Azam. And under it without diminishing the individual strength of any federal unit, everyone would have equal opportunities for achieving progress and prosperity.”

The prime minister said Pakistan was going through a difficult phase at present and the need to follow the principles of Quaid had become more necessary to follow than ever. The best way to pay tribute to the founder was to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state, he added.

“We have to put an end to internal chaos and work tirelessly for the advancement of Pakistan,” he said.

The prime minister appealed to parents and teachers to inform the new generation about the lives of Quaid-e-Azam and other leaders of the Pakistan movement so that they could know about the struggle for the creation of Pakistan and consider the lives of their leaders as a guiding light and play role in the progress and development of Pakistan with renewed enthusiasm and passion.

“Let us today on the anniversary of Quaid pledge that we will take guidance from the life of Quaid and follow his principles to ensure the progress and prosperity of Pakistan,” he concluded.