ISLAMABAD: The nation is celebrating the 145th birth anniversary of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, on Saturday (today) with traditional zeal and fervour.

Various activities will be held in government and private organisations to shed light on the Quaid’s lifelong political struggle and his guiding principles of unity, faith and discipline.

Mr Jinnah was born on Dec 25, 1876, in Karachi. The day is a public holiday and the national flag will be hoisted on principal government buildings throughout the country.

The day will start with special prayers for the security, progress and prosperity of the country.

Quran Khawani will be held at the Mazar-i-Quaid in Karachi while a change of guards ceremony will also take place.

A large number of people from all walks of life are expected to visit the mausoleum to pay tribute to Mr Jinnah for the services he rendered for creating a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent.

To mark the day, the Pakistan National Council of the Arts will organise various cultural events. A painting exhibition, tableau and speech competition will also be organised with the aim of educating the youth about Quaid’s vision and his ideology of Pakistan.

An official of the Pakistan Academy of Letters said that the ‘Quaid-i-Azam National Seminar’ would be arranged to highlight the Quaid’s efforts for the supremacy of the law. The Nazriya Pakistan Council has also arranged week-long programmes to mark the day.

Mr Jinnah was a lawyer by profession and a politician. He served as the leader of All-India Muslim League from 1913 until Pakistan’s independence on Aug 14, 1947, and then as Pakistan’s first governor general until his death on Sept 11, 1948.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2021