KARACHI: Begum Raana Liaquat Ali Khan said in Karachi yesterday [Oct 15] that Quaid-i-Millat’s example of selflessness and honesty will continue to “inspire us and his dying prayer protect and guide us through the years”.

In a message on the 16th anniversary of the death of Quaid-i-Millat [today] she said:

“Sixteen years ago the Quaid-i-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan laid down his life in the service of his people and the high principles he refused to compromise with. He lived for Pakistan with complete dedication to its ideals, its people, its welfare: with a statesmanship and courage that carried it safely through the early difficult, dangerous years of nationhood and the shattering shock of the beloved Quaid-i-Azam’s death at this critical juncture. He worked for Pakistan selflessly, honestly, ceaselessly, with a heartfelt concern for the poor and struggling millions.

“He believed most deeply in the spirit of Islam as a way of practical behaviour and action, both public and private; in the urgency for unity in the Muslim world; in the dignity and rights of every human being, great or small, strong or weak; in the need for absolute honesty of word and action in personal living and public leadership.

“He died for Pakistan, a martyr to treachery and his own high principles, with the name of Allah and of Pakistan upon his dying lips. Now 16 years later his murder still remains unsolved, and the body of Pakistan’s great and first Prime Minister rests humbly beneath a mound of beaten earth. May his example of selflessness and honesty inspire us, and his dying prayer protect and guide us through the years”.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2017