Men from Pakistan Movement honoured on nation’s 66th Independence Day

They recalled their determination to achieve independence.

KARACHI:

Meeting Mohammad Ali Jinnah during the height of the freedom movement was surely likely a dream come true for the elderly, frail men who had gathered at an event organised by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz at Numaish Chowrangi on Tuesday. As the nation celebrated the 66th Independence Day, people who took part in the Pakistan Movement were recognised for their services at the event.

Present on the occasion was Waqar Ahmed Zuberi, who was a student in 1946. He said that when he and his two friends learnt that Jinnah was going to visit Meerut, their hometown, they decided to present to him a map of proposed homeland-drawn with their blood. “We wanted to tell Jinnah sb that we were ready to spill our blood for him and the country,” said Zuberi. The three friends spent that night on the road, and waited for Jinnah’s car to pass. When presented the founder their map, Zuberi said, Jinnah patted them all and said that their struggle would soon help them get an independent country.

Justice (retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, presented gold medals to the people at the event.

Engineer Shahmir Khan, who was a teenager in the 1940s, recalled the time when he wrote a poem in his school notebook after taking part in a discussion about freedom. “My teacher was impressed, and applauded me for courageously demanding independence.”

Also present on the occasion was Pir Shabbir Uddin, who had been a part of the personal security protocol of luminaries like Jinnah, Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar and Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy. “We took our duties very seriously. The country meant everything to us. Everyone was united under one flag,” he reminisced. PML-N Karachi president Nehal Hashmi dedicated the day to the unsung heroes who had left behind their homes and lost their loved ones while struggling for a separate state.“There would no green flags, or jubilant men doing bhangras today if these people had not stood up,” said Hashmi.

“I am happy that these men were honored today, as prosperous countries never forget their heroes,” said Siddiqui.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2012.