KARACHI: Mohtarama Miss Fatima Jinnah told a big public meeting in Karachi last night that her decision to seek election as the Presidential candidate was motivated by her conviction that the country’s salvation lay in the restoration of democracy in conformity with the principles laid down by her illustrious brother, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah. She said that she was confident that the nation would support her wholeheartedly in her fight for the people’s rights, which could only be safeguarded in a people’s regime of popularly elected representatives.

Making her first public appearance, Miss Jinnah said the leaders of various opposition parties deserved congratulations for forging a united front. Miss Jinnah said that she was impressed by the unity of purpose displayed by the opposition parties and it was at their instance that she finally agreed to contest the Presidential election as the opposition candidate. Miss Jinnah bluntly told the audience that if they did not realise their duty to themselves and to the country, all hopes of rehabilitating the nation on sound, democratic and progressive lines would be dashed. One of the cardinal principles of the people’s democracy, she explained, was that the people should be given free opportunity to exercise their right to elect anyone they choose.

Published in Dawn, September 21th, 2014