Azadi: It Is A Journey, Not a Destination

Posted on August 13, 2009
Filed Under >Adil Najam, About ATP, Society
30 Comments
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Adil Najam

Tomorrow we will all celebrate Pakistan’s Independence DayYom 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.

Azadi Mubarak, Pakistan!

30 responses to “Azadi: It Is A Journey, Not a Destination”

  1. Watan Aziz says:

    @Midnight

  2. banjara286 says:

    yes, addrssing the plight of the idp’s is high priority, but let us not overlook the scourge of intolerance in sections of the pakistani society. we would have a right to truly celebrate freedom when our minorities feel that they share in this freedom.

    still, no matter how bleak the things may seem, it should not stop us from praying for the well being of all the people of pakistan, and from wishing them well.

    tamaam pakistaniyon ko yaum-e azadi bahot bahot mubarak ho.

    and may we finally start earning the right to celebrate it.

  3. Adnan Ahmad says:

    By chance I read Obaid’s comment. Adil finds himself in some company here.. Jamil Naqsh (the best of his kind) , Hanif Ramay and others. Happy to see Aesha Jalal as well on the list.

    Owais, this calls for a post, regardless of what Adil’s personal opinion might be on this!

  4. Midnight's Child says:

    Mr Insaan asks “where do we want Pakistan to be going from here ?” I have no idea where the country is going but I know where I would like it to go back to…..a place where one could dress as one pleased without interference, a place where one could say ” Khuda Hafiz” without raising eyebrows. A place to which diplomats asked to be posted rather than one where they have to be persuaded to come to with extra allowances. I liked Pakistan before (to quote Sara Suleri in “Meatless Days” ) : God moved out of the mosque and into government. I am sick to death of the hypocracy of every high offical zapping off to perform Umra or the Haj, as if it were part of the portfolio and nothing to do with a spiritual need. I sem to remember that the first Cabinet of independent Pakistan encompassed men of every religious hue and persuasion. Shias and Sunnis. People who prayed five times a day and those who never entered a masjid. People who fasted and people who enjoyed a drink ( often both !) The important thing was that it was a personal affair, between a person and his or her God. Now everyone minds everyone else’s business and the State wants to mind it for us all all the time, thanks to the likes of Bhutto and Zia. ( Zia was unspeakably awful but so many people tend to forget that we started down this slippery slope of humouring the more conservative elements in our society under Bhutto’s tenure in office). Every election and poll shows that there is still a moderate if silent majority in Pakistan. When and how are we going to prevail ?

  5. Obaid says:

    “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?”

    SITARA-I-IMTIAZ

    http://jazba.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/list-of-awar ds-confer-by-the-president-of-pakistan/

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