KARACHI:
The father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah spearheaded a long freedom movement, untiringly, for more than forty years. He began his journey by attending the annual meeting of the All India Congress in 1904 and never looked back. Even before the partition, he stood for the rights of the people of the Indian sub-continent, especially the minorities, and was equally respected and praised by friends and foes alike.
However, he soon came to realise that the leadership of the Congress was ignoring the rights of the Muslims, and so, he joined the Muslim League. Despite Nehru and others constantly asserted that Jinnah was not a true leader, our Quaid continued with his struggle, mobilised the youth of the Muslim League and carved a potent political force out of it. He eventually succeeded in getting freedom for the Muslims of Indian sub-continent in the form of a separate country. Alas, he did not live long to see the country progress and prosper! After his death, a tomb was constructed at his burial place in Karachi. This literally has become a scared place for all Pakistanis irrespective of their political or religious affiliation. Foreign dignitaries, diplomats and prominent personalities visit his tomb to pay homage to the Founder of the Nation.
Considering the tempestuous history of Pakistan and the Quaid, raising political slogans at the grave of a leader who believed in discipline and hard work rather than gimmickry is disgraceful to say the least. Our politicians have broken the norms of decency and created anarchy. The politicians have disgraced the sanctity of the Quaid’s tomb and tainted the face of the nation with the worst kind of stigma. We are sorry, Mr Jinnah, for we could not accord the respect that your final resting place deserves.
Raja Shafaatullah
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2020.
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