HARIPUR, Aug 10: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted to transform Pakistan into an egalitarian society and assigned the then Prime Minister Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan the task of carrying out land reforms in the country.
But he could not complete the task as he was assassinated.
Prof Dr M.A. Sufi, General Secretary of the Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Forum was briefing journalists about his books on Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Fatima Jinnah and other subjects here on Tuesday.
Dr Sufi, a staunch supporter of Mr Jinnah, is a veteran leader of Muslim Students Federation. He is the author of several books, including Jinnah se Quaid, Bangla Desh, Mera Des, Madar-i-Millat ki Hayat-o-Afkar, Kalabagh dam, Pukhtunkhwa, Do Khan Aik Pakistan and a number of pamphlets on related topics.
Referring to different speeches and views of Mr Jinnah, Dr Sufi said that the Quaid had struggled for a separate state for the Muslims of subcontinent and wanted to transform Pakistan into a society where everyone enjoyed equal status and equal rights.
He said that the Quaid had deputed Liaqat Ali Khan to carry out land reforms in the country but feudal lords of that time, who were worried about loosing their power, hatched a conspiracy to get rid of him.
He said that if the Quaid had lived for some time, he would have effected land reforms in Pakistan bringing to an end the feudal system, which, he said, was a major obstacle in the way of creating an egalitarian society.
After the assassination of Liaqat Ali Khan, he said, military regimes had remained in power most of the time and what he termed the 'militarycracy', which was later joined by the sons of feudal lords, it could also not be absolved of the blame for delaying land reforms.
Answering a question about Mr Jinnah as a democrat and statesman, Mr Sufi said that he always preferred collective decisions of his party rather than imposing his whims on others.
Once, he said, the Quaid was asked to comment what kind of Pakistan he wanted and he had replied that he opposed deciding unilaterally and said the Muslim League would take a final decision in this regard.
In addition to being intelligent and of good integrity, he said that the Quaid was "acceptable, accessible and available". Referring to the dissolution of the then NWFP government, he said that Dr Khan's government was sent packing when he refused to salute national flag.
He said that successive governments had failed to follow the Quaid's guidelines, adding that he had always abhorred sectarianism, class distinction, biradriism and favouritism.
