Pakistan Day Demands Selfless Unity

By Sajjad Shaukat

Every year, people of Pakistan celebrate the 23rd of March as the Pakistan Day, with great enthusiasm and zeal. But, this time, this very day has come at a time when Pakistan is facing multi-faceted internal and external challenges, which are worrying all the citizens.

It was due to the selfless practical unity among the Muslims under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam that Pakistan became a tangible reality on August 14, 1947. But, that unity started declining after passing through various crises, and the result was separation of East Pakistan in 1971, as India manipulated differences between East Pakistan and West Pakistan.

Now, more than three years have passed. But, Indian fanatic government led by the extremist Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued military lockdown in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Modi-led regime unilaterally abrogated the special status of the IIOJK on August 5, 2019 when Indian Parliament revoked articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution. The act split the IIOJK into two territories to be ruled directly by New Delhi. The purpose was to turn Muslim majority into minority.

Indian prejudiced rulers are also escalating tensions with Islamabad to divert attention from the drastic situation of the IIOJK and continued shelling inside Pakistani side of Kashmir by violating the ceasefire agreement of 2003 in relation to the Line of Control (LoC).

So, externally, Pakistan’s armed forces had been boldly responding to India’s unprovoked firing at the LoC.

The Director Generals of Military Operations of Pakistan and India have agreed to strictly observe the 2003 ceasefire agreement at LoC and other sectors, including Working Boundary from the midnight of February 24 and 25 of 2021.

Notably, Indian Premier Modi-the leader of the extremist ruling party BJP had got a land sliding victory in the Indian general elections 2014 and 2019. During the election-campaigns, Hindu majority was mobilized on ‘hate Muslim’ slogans and ‘anti-Pakistan’ jargons. Hence, Modi continues anti-Muslim policies. So, he is unpredictable and can, again, take a U-turn, which could result into violation of the recent ceasefire agreement, as Indian past record also shows.

Pakistan’s civil and military leadership has repeatedly stated that in order to divert attention from various internal crises and border dispute with China, New Delhi can arrange another Pulwama-type false flag terror attack in the IIOJK to justify military adventure against Pakistan.

The then Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran Khan had frequently said that Pakistan’s armed forces are fully ready to meet any Indian prospective aggression. Present army chief. Gen. Asim Munir has also expressed similar thoughts.

And Pakistan’s armed forces and primary intelligence agency ISI have successfully broken the backbone of the foreign-backed terrorists. Peace has been restored in the provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi as well as in other vulnerable regions. 

But, in the recent past, terrorist attacks especially in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan which is central point of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) show that the American CIA-led RAW and Mossad are destabilizing Pakistan and want to damage the CPEC project which is part of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative or BRI, as Washington and New Delhi have already opposed this project.

Pakistan Army has not only been successful in uprooting the anti-state and separatist elements, but also contributed a lot in socio-economic development of Balochistan besides giving military training to the youth, while protecting mega-projects and the CPEC staff.

Regarding some recent terror attacks which also include Balochistan, sources suggested that some militants of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is based in Afghanistan, have entered Pakistan from Afghanistan. In this context, a high-level Pakistani delegation led by Defense Minister Khawaja Asif along with Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed Anjum—head of the ISI, and other senior officials from the defense and foreign ministries visited Kabul on February 22, 2023 with the main agenda of countering terrorism and the use of Afghanistan soil by the TTP militants.

In this respect, Islamabad warned the interim Afghan Taliban administration that if TTP involved in cross-border attacks are not eliminated, Pakistan would take action against them within Afghanistan. Not only that, all facilitators and abettors of terrorists would also face the same consequences.

While, constant efforts were being made to completely isolate Pakistan as was evident from the attempt at putting Pakistan on the FATF grey list for a long time. But, the country came out of it successfully.

Unfortunately, what is harming Pakistan is widespread corruption, weak institutions of accountability, criminalization of politics, disarray among institutions and conventional personalized rule.

It is mentionable that since April 9, 2022 when the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chairman of the PTI was ousted through vote of no-confidence motion, the then joint opposition-an alliance of the PDM, the country has been facing political instability which is rapidly worsening economic crisis. In this regard, several undemocratic moves by both the PTI such as public protests and brutal crackdown of the present government against the PTI leaders and supporters—violent incident at the residence of Khan at Zaman Park, Lahore are further being exploited by the country’s external enemies.

Both the PTI and PDM also held each other responsible for ongoing political instability and severe economic crisis. Although governors of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had announced the dates of elections—April 30 in Punjab and May 28 in KP, following the verdict of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, yet the PDM government is using delaying tactics in holding elections. As part of it, the Election Commission of Pakistan on March 22, 2023 (today) postponed the Punjab elections till October 8, this year, while the governor of KP already reversed his decision to hold the provincial polls. Therefore, the country is facing constitutional crisis.

Regrettably, under the cover of so-called democracy, some irresponsible leaders of the PTI and those of the ruling parties have changed their political differences into political enmity. They have been rapidly registering cases and lodging FIRs against each other by ignoring country’s multiple crises and challenges—continued dependence upon the US-led developed countries for financial aid. In these adverse circumstances, IMF which is under Washington’s control has imposed very tough conditions on Islamabad which has been forced to impose new taxes.

Now, besides Imran Khan—Defence Minister Khawaja Asif of the PML-N on February 18, this year claimed that the country has been defaulted—standing on one’s own feet was crucial for Pakistan to stabilise itself—the solution to our problems lies within the country. The IMF does not have the solution to Pakistan’s problems.

Imran Khan and some analysts have repeatedly opined that Pakistan will become Sri Lanka which has been facing severe political unrest and manifold economic crises after it was declared default.

But, Pakistan is not close to total paralysis which will convert it into a failed state like Somalia.

It has a strong army which has successfully established government’s writ all over the country despite difficulties. Undoubtedly, apart from some US-led western countries, including Israel and particularly India are waging a hybrid war against Pakistan.

Despite all of this, Pakistan is facing multi-faceted crises and challenges like corruption, inflation, soaring prices of commodities, energy-shortage, lack of investment, upsurge of the US dollar, increase in oil prices, load shedding, inability of the importers to open letters of credit (LC) due to lack of dollars etc. and continued dependence upon the US-led developed countries, IMF and World Bank for financial aid—and decline in the the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan.

However, the 23rd of March 1940 was a watershed in the history of the Sub-continent, when All India Muslim League passed the Resolution in Lahore for the creation of an independent state. Now, it is popularly called as Pakistan Resolution.

Earlier, in his address to the Muslim League at Allahabad in 1930, the idea of a homeland for Muslims in their majority areas had been envisioned by the poet Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal, and had become the aspiration of Indian Muslims.

In fact, the British colonialists in connivance with majority Hindu population had manipulated and targeted Muslims through every possible way. In that background, Muslims started struggle for a separate state.

Prior to the Lahore session of Muslim League, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had specified to this historical congregation of the Muslims, the watch-words of ‘Faith, Unity and Discipline’ which were not only necessary for waging the battle for an independent homeland, but also for present-day Pakistan.

Nevertheless, the government, the opposition leaders, including all other segments of society must act upon the essence of the Pakistan Day by showing selfless national unity which is very essential to pull the country out of the ongoing serious crises and to meet the Indian war-mongering designs.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com