Adil Najam
Tomorrow we will all celebrate Pakistan’s Independence Day – Yom e Azadi.
Today, let us take a moment to think about just what ‘independence’ – Azadi – means.
Azadi – independecne – is not a destination, it is a journey. It is not something that we ‘achieved’ on August 14, 1947. It is something that we must earn, and preserve, every day.
On this particular Yom e Azadi, there can be no better reminder of just what the continuing journey that is Azadi really mean than the daily struggles of internally displaced Pakistanis (IDPs). Those who remain homeless in their own homeland.
Some IDPs have indeed begun to return to their homes. That is good. Too many, however, remain displaced. And even those who have returned home continue with the struggles of displacement with their lives dispersed and the ugly shadows of Talibanism hanging heavy over their every move.
We at ATP wish to take a moment today to reaffirm that we have not forgotten these displaced Pakistanis. And that we will not. It is far too easy to get distracted by the hot news of the day and to forget the sacrifice that these Pakisatnis are having to bear in defense of their own and of all of our Azadi. We have not, and will not, forget.
Over the last many months ATP has had two separate fund-raising efforts for IDPs in Pakistan. During the first our readers contributed US$ 4,780; during the second they contributed another US$ 1,806. To this we at ATP have added, in various tranches, an additional of US$ 3,414. In total, therefore, a total of US$ 10,000 (Pak Rs. 820,000) has now been sent to support IDP relief works on behalf of you, our ATP readers. As we have mentioned before, this amount has been equally distributed between the Edhi efforts in Pakistan and UNHCR.
Today, we wish to take a moment to thank all of you for all of this.
As we all prepare to celebrate our Azadi, it is your Pakistaniat that reaffirms our own. It is your passion that ignites our hopes. It is your commitment that gives us strength.
The IDPs remind us today that the struggles for Azadi are always hard, but never futile.
Just got an email from a friend in Islamabad saying Adil Najam was awarded some sort of a medal on Independence Day. Hilal I Imtiaz I think?
Is that correct? Could someone confirm?
It is a journey not a destination” ( the heading by Adil Najam)
I do think that it is approprite that we engage in a discussion about this process (the journey of PAkistan) as the heading implies and what dowe think should be /ought to be the course/discourse of the `in spe
Mr. Panaawala says …..”STILL WE HAVE TO FACE MANY TESTS TILL THE REAL INDEPENDENCE IS ACHIEVED WITH TO IMPLIMENT SHARIA WHICH IS THE MAIN CAUSE TO DEMAND PAKISTAN………”.
My understanding has always been that Mr. Jinnah did not want a state in which Sharia Law prevailed, hence the disenchantment shown by those with a more conservative and extreme interpretation of Islam amongst the Indian Muslim community. I always told that the real reason behind the creation of Pakistan was to give those of Muslim birth a country where they would have full economic and poltical rights, something which seemed increasingly unlikely within an independent India in early 1947, given the lack of will on the part of some members of the Congress, and lack of time to come to a better resolution of the sticking points brought on by the the date for independence being pulled forward from 1948 to 1947, and of course Mr. Jinnah’s own sense of time running out personally for him, due to his diminishing health. Some people may disagree with me, but I assure you that I do know this for a fact as my parents both knew Mr. Jinnah well, and worked extremely closely with him.
I really love how Abid Beli re-define Pakistan as:
Pakistan: P-> Perfect A->Aimitious K->Kool I->Islamic S->Super T->Talented A->Able N->Nation
Classic!
If Pakistanis dedicate the 14th August a day to find solutions of various problems in their own capacity rather than blaming the system then it would be much better for every one rather than exhibiting “fake” patriotism here and there.
It’s Friday too so better to offer extra 2 rakat Nafil Salat our situation is still way better than countries like Iraq,Afghanistan and Palestine where invaders have taken away all kind of freedom from the residents of those countries.
May Allah keeps this nation free from all kind of left,right radicals and give some “Aqal” to the nation so that they can choose the right ruler for themselves. Ameen