KARACHI, March 15: Speakers paid tribute to the services rendered by Hameed Nizami, founder of Nawa-i-Waqt and leading worker of the Pakistan movement, at a function organized by the Hameed Nizami memorial society on Friday.

Sindh Governor Mohammedmian Soomro reiterated the government’s commitment to hold fair, free, transparent and impartial elections in October and said it was working on the guidelines provided by the Supreme Court.

He said the Supreme Court, even in the United States of America, interpreted or explained the ambiguous parts of the constitution and was respected whatever verdict it gave.

The government was working on its reforms agenda within the parameters set by the Supreme Court, he added.

He said the elections would be held in time and hoped that the people would show interest, which would be reflected in the turnout. The beginning of the democratic process had been made by holding the local bodies elections and the turnout in those elections had showed that the people were interested in the reformed setup.

He hoped that the turnout in the general elections would also be encouraging, saying that the turnout would reflect the interest and trust of the people in the system.

Former caretaker prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi said that Pakistan needed more people like Hameed Nizami who could sacrifice their personal ends to the national interest.

He said whatever was going on in India against the Muslim minority was not possible without the patronage of the state.

Talking about the elections, he said it was important that the mandate of the people be respected and honoured otherwise Pakistan might face even worse consequences than what it had faced in the 1970s when the opinion of the voters had not been respected and honoured by the then establishment of the country.

Prof Ghafoor Ahmad of the Jamaat-i-Islami said that only those people be barred from contesting elections who failed to qualify the conditions of the constitution. He also demanded that political activities be allowed and the electronic media be made independent.

Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani said that Pakistan and Pakistan’s ideology were interlinked and could not be separated.

On the issue of autonomy, he said the provinces in Pakistan were enjoying more autonomy than Indian states.

Prof N.D. Khan of the Pakistan People’s Party stressed the need for strengthening of democratic system in the country and demanded restoration of the political process without any restrictions.

Ijaz Shafi of the PML (N) was of the opinion that the people had not lost trust in political parties but were not turning up to use their right of franchise because their opinion was not honoured in Pakistan.

Capt Haleem Siddiqui of PML (Q) deplored that national politics had been confined to personalities. He called upon the people to be ready for sacrifices for building this country, for which, he added, strengthening of political institutions was imperative.

The president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, A.Q. Khalil, said the relations with India should be restored to strengthen the national economy. Appreciating the government efforts in this regard, he called upon the Indian business community to pressure their government to normalize the relations between the two neighbouring countries.

Majeed Nizami, the chief editor of Nawa-i-Waqt and The Nation, said his papers would continue to follow the same path of truth even in the teeth of opposition. He hoped that the country would become a real Islamic welfare state.

The son of Hameed Nizami and editor of The Nation, Arif Nizami, said that he and Majeed Nizami were carrying on the mission which was started by Hameed Nizami.

The vice chancellor of Sir Syed University, Zil-i-Ahmad Nizami, readers should also enjoy freedom along with the press.