Today we are celebrating the anniversary of the Pakistan Resolution. On this day in 1940, in a resolution adopted in Lahore by the All-India Muslim League, the Muslims of India vowed to strive for a homeland of their own. Under the inspiring and matchless leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, they succeeded in creating a new state for ordering their lives compatible with their religious, social, political and cultural aspirations.
Our ideological strength lies in our firm adherence to Islam, and our progress and prosperity depend on the cherished principles of Unity, Faith and Discipline, the motto given by the Father of the Nation. Let me add that by acting on this motto, conscientiously and sincerely, we can hope to build our future on the lines visualized in the momentous Pakistan Resolution.
Today we have to remember that the Quaid’s motto was for everyone in Pakistan - the rich and the poor, the ruler and the ruled, women as much as men, young as well as old; and, of course, all the provinces and regions of the country. Without keeping these facts in mind, we shall lose the inspiration that these three words provide us and start wandering aimlessly among the comity of nations.
Let me remind my fellow citizens, that in the present environment, it is all the more imperative for us to place national unity and integrity above everything else. If we want to build a prosperous and stable future for ourselves, we shall have to shed petty differences and controversies, and subordinate our personal and parochial wishes to the higher values of life that the motto demands.
Therefore, let us renew our covenant today to make Pakistan a developed, enlightened, forward looking, progressive and modem Islamic welfare state.
May Allah bless us with the ability and the wisdom to follow the Quaid’s motto in letter and spirit, Ameen!
Shaukat Aziz
Prime Minister of Pakistan