APROPOS the letter ‘The forgotten fist’ (Oct 21), I fully agree with the writer that we, as a nation, continue to ignore the services of our heroes, including Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, the country’s first prime minister.

He was arguably the biggest landlord in undivided India and gave away everything for the sake of Pakistan. He donated his personal palatial house in Delhi’s prime area to Pakistan to be used as the residence of the Pakistani high commissioner.

Against the wealth he possessed, he could have staked a claim for his lands which spanned many square miles, but he didn’t. His children and grandchildren worked their way in this country like any other ordinary citizens.

He was the man who stood for the ideals of Muslim League right from the beginning. He was among those who persuaded the Quaid-i-Azam to come back to India and lead the Muslims during the 1930s.

His political achievements are many. They should be exhaustively researched and written about. There is no one who deserves more recognition after the Quaid than Liaquat Ali Khan about whom not many worthwhile books have been penned.

The very least that can be done to honour his memory is to name the new airport of Rawalpindi-Islamabad after him. This nation owes him much more.

Ambassador (r) Sajjad Ashraf
Islamabad

(2)

IT is lamentable that the 69th death anniversary of Liaquat Ali Khan, one of the founding fathers and the first prime minister of Pakistan, went almost unnoticed on Oct 16 this year. He had a number of remarkable achievements in domestic, regional and world affairs to his credit.

He maintained the element of non-alignment in his foreign policy, and the impression spread around by the vested interest that he put Pakistan in the American camp is nothing but a baseless allegation that was spread after his assassination. The current marks the 125th anniversary of his birth. The nation should celebrate the event in a befitting manner.

Mahfooz un Nabi Khan
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2020