RECENTLY, I was struggling to get to sleep because the Quaid’s message of ‘unity, faith and discipline’ haunted me. I asked myself: are these three attributes separate? Can we have unity without faith? Can we have faith without unity? Can we have discipline without unity and faith? It is, I decided, a complete circuit.

To my mind the most important quality the one that will determine the outcome is faith. By this, I mean faith in God and the message of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

I do not think that commentators have done justice to the founder’s wisdom. It is deeper than what appears on the surface. It’s an ocean whose depth we have not yet fathomed. It is a guide to fruitful nationhood.

Look at the PTV. It translates the Quaid’s message into chaste Urdu and ends with ‘Jeet ki lagan.’ What has Quaid’s message got to do with winning or losing? It is simple. Excel in the love of God. Faith is everything.

IQBAL ISMAIL
Karachi