Our government and our people in particular seem to have all but forgotten Jinnah, his ideals and his legacy.
LAHORE: No doubt Benazir Bhutto was a popular and a charismatic leader but it is sad to see that while our prime minister did pen an article in her memory, he did not do the same in the case of the birth anniversary of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, which fell just two days ago.
Our government and our people in particular seem to have all but forgotten Jinnah, his ideals and his legacy. We have forgotten his principles of tolerance and unity. And he has become a mere showcase every December 25 when people, the politicians and the media all talk about him and then forget him as soon as the day passes. Instead of having Jinnah’s picture on expensive government-paid advertisements, we now see pictures of Ms Bhutto, the prime minister and the president. This should make all of us think why this is happening. Ms Bhutto was a leader in her own right but surely even she would have agreed in her life that Jinnah’s stature was higher than hers.
Rana Umair
Published in The Express Tribune, December 28th, 2010.
