Speakers paid glowing tributes to Pakistan’s founder Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah at a gathering organized by the Pakistan Repatriation Council on Tuesday to mark the Pakistani leader’s birth anniversary.

They called for adhering to the teachings and principles of Jinnah that called for hard work and dedication.

Saudi columnist Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi said Jinnah was not only a leader of Pakistan but of the entire Muslim world. He accomplished an “impossible mission” by achieving freedom for the Muslims of the sub-continent on the basis of two-nation theory.

He said Jinnah reached the conclusion after a number of developments that Muslims needed a separate state for themselves, which was eventually established after a lot of sacrifices by Muslims, led by those from Bihar province. They again rendered sacrifices for the integrity and solidarity of the country in 1971 but Jinnah’s Pakistan was divided. He regretted that those who had made numerous sacrifices in East Pakistan were abandoned by the Pakistan government to live in squalid camps in Bangladesh.

Chief guest Saeed Al-Farha said he was highly impressed by Jinnah’s leadership. He praised Pakistan’s constructive role in the Muslim world. “Pakistanis are intelligent, hardworking and committed people and played an important role in Saudi Arabia’s development.” He hoped that the issue of stranded Pakistanis will be resolved soon.

Azeez Ahmed, general secretary of Pakistan Engineers’ Society, said it was imperative to adhere to the teachings of Jinnah and Iqbal to tide over the host of problems Pakistan is facing. He also called for the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis.

Tayyab Mosani, secretary-general of Pakistan Memon Association said if we adhere to Jinnah’s Principles of “Unity, Faith and Discipline,” we can achieve real progress.

Abu Farhan SIddiqui, general secretary of the Muslim Welfare and Development Organization (MWDA), spoke about his organization’s activities in supporting the stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh camps. MWDO provides subsistence allowance to many destitute families of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh. It also organizes sacrifice of animals during Eid Al-Adha.

PRC convener Syed Ehsanul Haque said, “It is our national obligation to educate the young generation about the creation of Pakistan so that they can understand and carry forward the mission of Jinnah and Iqbal.”

Sheikh Mohamamd Luqman, Mohammad Amanatullah and community leader Shamsuddin Altaf also spoke.

Members of the meeting adopted resolutions urging Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to restart the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis. They called on the Pakistani government to assign its high commissioner in Dhaka to look after the interests of 250,000 Pakistanis confined to camps across Bangladesh. They also urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to include the issue in its agenda.

Hamid Islam Khan conducted the program.