What the Pakistan Day Demands? By
Sajjad Shaukat
Every year, people of Pakistan celebrate the 23rd of
March as the Pakistan Day, with great enthusiasm and zeal. But, this time, this
very day has come at a time when Pakistan stands at the crossroads of its
destiny, facing internal and external challenges and threats to the national
security of the country, which are worrying all the citizens.
Particularly,
war-like situation which started between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of
the false flag Pulwama
terror attack in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK),
still exists, as the extremist government of the BJP led by the Indian fundamentalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refused the mediatory role of any country, while continuing war hysteria against Pakistan in wake of acceleration of shelling across the Line of Control (LoC), which has resulted into many casualties in the Pakistani side of Kashmir. On the other side, Pakistan’s armed forces are on high alert to give a matching response to any Indian prospective aggression or war. Earlier, Indian Air Force conducted pre-emptive air strike near the town of Balakot, close to the border with Pakistan’s sector of Kashmir on February 27, 2018, claiming that Indian fighter jets targeted the camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and killed 350 militants—the group whom New Delhi blamed for the Pulwama attack. Next day, in response, Pakistan Air Force launched aerial strikes at six targets in the IOK and shot down two Indian fighter jets and captured Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who was released as a gesture of peace and handed over to the Indian authorities. It resulted into diplomatic victory of Islamabad over India. Prime Minister Modi who has directed the Indian security forces to accelerate atrocities in the IOK, wants to obtain various nefarious designs, especially to suppress the Kashmiris’ war of liberation and to win the general elections 2019 at the cost of Pakistan. On the other side, Western media and their high officials are insisting upon the settlement of the Kashmir issue.
still exists, as the extremist government of the BJP led by the Indian fundamentalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refused the mediatory role of any country, while continuing war hysteria against Pakistan in wake of acceleration of shelling across the Line of Control (LoC), which has resulted into many casualties in the Pakistani side of Kashmir. On the other side, Pakistan’s armed forces are on high alert to give a matching response to any Indian prospective aggression or war. Earlier, Indian Air Force conducted pre-emptive air strike near the town of Balakot, close to the border with Pakistan’s sector of Kashmir on February 27, 2018, claiming that Indian fighter jets targeted the camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and killed 350 militants—the group whom New Delhi blamed for the Pulwama attack. Next day, in response, Pakistan Air Force launched aerial strikes at six targets in the IOK and shot down two Indian fighter jets and captured Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who was released as a gesture of peace and handed over to the Indian authorities. It resulted into diplomatic victory of Islamabad over India. Prime Minister Modi who has directed the Indian security forces to accelerate atrocities in the IOK, wants to obtain various nefarious designs, especially to suppress the Kashmiris’ war of liberation and to win the general elections 2019 at the cost of Pakistan. On the other side, Western media and their high officials are insisting upon the settlement of the Kashmir issue.
In this regard,
unlike India, Pakistan’s ruling party
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), opposition parties, members of civil societies and
military are on one page regarding Indian aggression.
In this respect,
on March 1, this year, the joint sitting of the Pakistan’s parliament in
demonstration of unity against any external aggression, passed a unanimous
resolution strongly condemning the blatant Indian aggression of 26th and 27th
of February against the country and the parliamentary leaders said that they
are standing shoulder to shoulder to the armed forces of Pakistan. The
resolution completely rejected India’s self-serving and fictitious claims of having
destroyed alleged terrorist facility—pointed out that facts on the grounds
clearly contradict India’s false claim and so have been testified by
independent observers. The resolution noted that timely and effective action of
the Pakistan Air Force repulsed the Indian attack without loss of life and
property—India’s baseless allegations against
Pakistan in the wake of Pulwama attack were politically motivated—the Indian
government’s subsequent action has been guided by its electoral calculations.
Strongly condemning the Indian atrocities in the IHK [Indian Held Kashmir], the
resolution rejected the India’s attempt to project the legitimate Kashmiri
struggle for self-determination as terrorism. It reiterated that Jammu and
Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute, pending on the agenda of the
UN Security Council due to Indian intransigence. It underscored that a just and
peaceful solution of Kashmir dispute. The resolution mentioned Prime Minister
Imran Khan’s call to avoid further escalation and urged the parliament of India
to support the call by this joint session of Pakistani parliament for
de-escalation and dialogue between Pakistan and India.
However, the 23rd of March 1940 was a watershed in the
history of the Sub-continent, when All India Muslim League passed the
Resolution in Lahore for the creation of an independent state. Now, it is
popularly called as Pakistan Resolution. Earlier, in his address to the Muslim
League at Allahabad in 1930, the idea of a homeland for Muslims in their
majority areas had been envisioned by the poet Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal, and
had become the aspiration of Indian Muslims.
In fact, the British colonialists in connivance with
majority Hindu population had manipulated and targeted Muslims through every
possible way. In that background, Muslims started struggle for a separate
state.
Prior to the Lahore session of Muslim League, Quaid-i-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah had specified to this historical congregation of the
Muslims, the watch-words of ‘Faith, Unity and Discipline’ which were not only
necessary for waging the battle for an independent homeland, but also for
present Pakistan. So, while struggling against the enemies, the essence of
these watch-words is unity which is the real spirit of the Pakistan Resolution.
It was due to the selfless practical unity among the Muslims
under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam that Pakistan became a tangible reality.
But that unity started declining after passing through various crises, and the
result was separation of East Pakistan in 1971, as the India manipulated
differences between East Pakistan and the West Pakistan.
Although at present Pakistan’s various entities, general
masses and military are united against any prospective Indian aggression, yet,
Pakistan Day has come at a time when Pakistan is also facing other multiple
threats of grave nature.
In this connection, on July 28, 2017, five-member larger
bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan announced its verdict in connection with
the Panama Papers case and disqualified the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in
relation to the charges of corruption. Supreme Court also issued directives to
the National Accountability Court (NAB) to investigate the charges against the
Sharif family.
Instead of accepting the verdict of the Supreme Court of
Pakistan, the deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the former head of the
Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) started criticizing the verdict of the Supreme
Court in his rallies, while targeting other key institutions of the
country. Nawaz Sharif, while forgetting Supreme Court’s various decisions
of the past, which went in their favour, has declared the verdict of the apex
court—conspiracy against his family and government.
Afterwards, ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother
Shahbaz Sharif, the former Chief Minister of Punjab, including some other
leaders (Retired and serving officials) of the PML-N, Pakistan People’s Party
(PPP) and Aleem Khan of the PTI-senior Minister of Punjab
were arrested by the NAB.
Earlier, leaders of the mainstream political parties such as
PTI, PPP and Jamaat-e-Islami which want to eliminate corruption in Pakistan had
insisted upon the former Prime Minister Sharif to accept the verdict of the
Supreme Court. PTI Chairman Imran Khan had remarked that by criticizing the
decision of the apex court and Pakistan Army in this connection and through
rallies of the PML-N, the disqualified P.M. Nawaz Sharif wanted to create rift
between his party workers and the key institutes of the country. Some other
political leaders, renowned persons and analysts had also expressed similar
thoughts by opining that Nawaz Sharif seems determined to create anarchy in the
country.
It notable that Pakistan’s Armed Forces have successfully
broken the backbone of the foreign-backed terrorists by the military operations
Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad which have also been extended to other parts of
the country, including Balochistan province and Karachi. Army and country’s primary intelligence agency ISI
have broken the network of these terrorist groups by capturing several
militants, while thwarting a number of terror attempts. Peace has been restored
in various regions of Pakistan, including Karachi and Balochistan.
But, these foreign elements have, again, started terror
attacks in Balochistan and other regions of the country which show that the
US-led India, Afghanistan and Israel want to weaken Pakistan and to damage the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
As Pakistan is the only declared nuclear country in the
Islamic World, Hence, the United States, India and Israel have been acting upon
their collective agenda to destabilize it. Besides, after the shift of the
Great Game from Central Asia to Pakistan (Balochistan), the country has become
special target of the American CIA, Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad which are in
collaboration in supporting various terror-related attacks in various cities,
including separatist elements in Balochistan province.
In this context, in the recent past, new wave of terrorism
in Pakistan, killed several innocent people, while various terrorist outfits,
particularly the Islamic State group (Also known as Daesh, ISIS, ISIL), and the
affiliated faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat-ur-Ahrar (TTP-JA also known as JuA)
claimed responsibility for these brutal acts. TTP based in Afghanistan has its
connections with ISIL and other terrorist organizations and affiliated terror
groups, including Baloch separatist elements, and all these outfits are
promoting the anti-Pakistan agenda of the foreign entities against Pakistan. As
part of the double game, CIA, RAW, Mossad and Afghan intelligence agency,
National Directorate of Security (NDS) which are in collaboration, are using
these terror outfits in weakening Pakistan and especially Balochistan in order
to fulfill the covert strategic aims of the US-led India and Israel against
Pakistan, China, Russia and Iran.
At this juncture, Pakistan is also facing multi-faceted
crises and challenges like corruption, soaring prices, energy-shortage,
unemployment, crimes, lack of health facilities, and dependence upon the US-led
developed countries, IMF and World Bank for financial aid.
Notably, present drastic situation cannot be comprehended by
the general masses and even the political leaders who abruptly change their
opinion. Therefore, they become unintentional victim of the external plotters
who succeed in creating a rift particularly between the political groups,
divided on ethnic and linguistic lines. These foreign enemies also seek to
create a division between the political leaders and the Armed Forces of the
country.
At this critical moment, the Pakistan Day demands selfless
national unity practically, instead of verbal statements. This significant day
emphasizes that our political leaders must pledge that they will not manipulate
their regional and provincial differences at the cost of the national interests
so as to grab political power. In this respect, a blind dedication to one’s own
race, tribe and creed should not be allowed to create hatred in one group
against the other. They must avoid exploiting present thorny issues in order to
increase their vote-bank at the cost of the integration of the country.
Selfless unity demands that if any controversy arises among
the politicians, it can better be settled in consonance with the constitution,
law and mutual understanding of the government and political parties.
In this connection, in order to castigate the conspiracy of
the external enemies against the integrity of the country, our political
leaders, media and human rights groups must also stop manipulating any crisis
against Pakistan Army and ISI whose image are deliberately being tarnished by
the external plotters through a continued propaganda campaign.
True and selfless unity against the foreign enemies requires
that our rulers and leaders of other political parties must create national
cohesion among various segments of society. Especially, our electronic media
should give a matching response to malicious propaganda of the US-led some
Western countries, including India and Israel which are distorting the image of
Pakistan, its Army and ISI.
Especially, on this very day, media must also highlight the
national heroes and their efforts, services and sacrifices, rendered for
Pakistan and to project soft image of Pakistan by showing tourism sights of
the county etc.
Nonetheless, at this crucial time, Pakistan’s survival lies
in selfless national unity and strong cohesion as at present, even a layman can
note that our country is in chaos and it seems as if there is a “war of all
against all” in the sense of ‘Hobbesian state of nature.”
On the occasion of Pakistan Day, we must follow the essence
of the Pakistan Resolution in real terms by displaying selfless unity in
practical terms, which is not possible unless the government, the opposition
leaders, civil societies and media owners, including all other segments of
society pledge to sign a charter of integration which is very necessary to pull
the country out of the ongoing serious crises and threats.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author
of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous
Shift in International Relations
