PESHAWAR, Aug 24: Speakers at a seminar on Tuesday observed that Pakistan had failed to emerge as a welfare and democratic state in accordance with the concept of the Quaid-i-Azam which he had spelled out in his famous speech in the Constituent Assembly on Aug 11, 1947.

The seminar, entitled 'democracy and good governance', was organized by the NWFP chapter of the Liberal Forum Pakistan at the Peshawar Press Club. National Awami Party Pakistan secretary-general Abdul Latif Afridi, Awami National Party vice-president Haji Mohammad Adeel, Liberal Forum's Zaheer Khattak and PPC president Mohammed Riaz spoke.

The leaders recalled that Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had laid emphasis on the future of minorities in Pakistan and assured them that they would have the same political rights as enjoyed by the Muslim majority. He had sought to allay the fears of the minorities that they would politically become second class citizen in the newly-created Muslim country, they said.

However, they deplored, after the death of Mr Jinnah, successive rulers distorted the teachings of Quaid-i-Azam and misused his name to prolong their rule. The military and civilian rulers, they said, had divided the nation in the name of unity and promoted ethnic and sectarian hatred to serve their own interests.

The speakers said that a group of bigots and opportunists had misinterpreted the contents of the Quaid's speech and come up with its new version which suited best to factional interests.

They alleged that a minister in Gen Zia' cabinet had removed the Quaid's speech from the national archives in order to turn the country into a theocratic state. They said that Nawabzada Sher Ali Khan, who was information minister in the government of the then president Gen Yahya Khan, had coined the term of 'ideological frontiers' to hoodwink the nation.

Mr Jinnah, they said, wanted to establish a modern welfare and democratic state where all citizens irrespective of their cast, creed and colour could enjoy equal political and social rights. However, they added, the feudal ruling families had always helped dictators to keep the old system intact.