The people of Pakistan recently marked the nation’s 78th birthday, celebrating with their traditional love and devotion to the country. The elite, however, blended their claims of patriotism with a somewhat insincere commitment to the ideals of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and loyalty to the country founded by him. The ruling class has been reiterating these pledges and commitments rhetorically every year since August 1947. Being only two years younger than Pakistan, I have grown up with it. I served it to the best of my ability for over 30 years and will, hopefully, embrace its earth on my final farewell. This land gave me everything – shelter, education, career, dignity and a good life. Thank you, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Mr Jinnah spent his whole life fighting a pitched battle to secure the future of the Indian Muslims. He fought this battle on three fronts: with the British administration – to convince it of the truth of his political stance; with the All India Congress – to thwart its tough resistance to his demand for a constitutional system in which the Muslims felt politically and economically secure; and with the Indian Muslim nationalists – to silence their opposition to his political agenda. At the same time, he mobilised and rallied the despairing Muslims around his struggle for a separate country in Muslim-majority regions. This hard struggle had, indeed, consumed his life. He lived hardly a year in his dreamland for which he had staked his personal and family life, comfort, career, health, wealth and property.

A well-known theocrat and political leader once tauntingly stated that Mr Jinnah was making Pakistan with a bunch of sham leaders. I wonder how pathetically prophetic he was. Truth filters out........

© The Friday Times