KARACHI: An interactive discussion ‘Mr Jinnah’s Life and Achievements’ was held at the Quaid-i-Azam House Museum (Flagstaff House) on Monday afternoon.

In his welcome speech, Liaquat Merchant, grandnephew of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, said it’s important to remember the founding fathers of your country. He lamented the fact that only one newspaper, Jang, published a supplement and Dawn an editorial on his 75th death anniversary (Sept 11). Otherwise, there’s nothing in the newspapers.

“It’s good to celebrate Aug 14, but it’s also good to reflect on what he [the Quaid] did for you,” he said.

Prof Dr Jaffed Ahmed, who moderated the session, said the theme of the discussion for the panellist was “what Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah means to them”.

Speakers pay rich tribute to the father of the nation on his 75th death anniversary

In his opening remarks, he said Pakistan owes to the efforts of Mr Jinnah and his commitment.

Talking about ‘how he did it’ he argued that at the time leadership came from two segments of society — social elite (feudal, nawab, etc) and the clergy. Mr Jinnah belonged to none of them. He came from a middleclass background. He went to the UK for studies, came back and saw a lot of contradictions in society. From 1940 to 1947 he envisaged a country where all would be equal citizens.

Dr Ahmed was of the view that if we had constructed on his ideas, the eastern wing of Pakistan would not have been separated. “I regard Jinnah as a bigger leader than Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, because Ataturk had the support of the military.”

Industrialist and philanthropist Mushtaq Chhapra said: “We have not been fair to Pakistan by not following Mr Jinnah’s ideals. I have faith in the youth of this country. Our hope and future is the youth. The youth should seek the less privileged which needs them.”

Dr Huma Baqai said she’s not a scholar of Mr Jinnah but is fascinated by him.

Referring to the schoolchildren who had turned up in a big number on Monday, she said every child should be fascinated by Mr Jinnah. “Very few Pakistanis have written on him. He was a very good human being. It was his vision that won us this country. He got this country through arguments. More research is required on him.”

She mentioned that she’d read somewhere that Mr Jinnah had even drafted a constitution for the country which is yet to be declassified. Later, during the question-and-answer session, she commented that the referred constitution could be his famous 14 points.

Artist Jimmy Engineer said if Mr Jinnah showed up today in Pakistan, he’d be very disappointed. Everyone quotes his words but no one tries to implement them. “He was a towering person.”

Like other speakers, he too pointed out that hope lay with the young ones of Pakistan; they’ll take the country forward.

Ameena Saiyid said she’s fascinated by Mr Jinnah’s financial, moral and intellectual integrity. He set an example for all of us to follow. As governor general, he refused to accept a salary. He never accepted gifts. He worked very hard to generate income for himself. That’s a lesson we need to learn from him, she said.

Architect Arif Belgaumi said to him Mr Jinnah was more than a role model. Before he became the father of the nation, he was a successful lawyer known for his honesty and integrity. “We should read and learn about him in order to be like him. A lot of work remains to be done. We can’t underestimate what went into the making of this country.”

Delivering the concluding remarks, writer and security expert Ikram Sehgal began by saying that our intellectuals have selective memory. Countering what an earlier speaker had said about the military, he pointed out Mr Jinnah had support of the military.

He put emphasis on the fact that all is not doom and gloom. “Despite the bad, corrupt leadership we’ve had, we are in Pakistan whose achievements include, among others: Pakistan has the second largest copper and gold reserves in the world, it’s the sixth largest milk producing country in the world, and has developed a missile system. Despite the crises, we are a resilient nation,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2023