Pakistan is celebrating Quaid’s 144th birth anniversary today
The nation is celebrating the 144th birth anniversary of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, on Friday with traditional zeal and fervor.
Mr. Jinnah was born on December 25, 1876, in Karachi. The birth anniversary is a public holiday and the national flag was hoisted on principal government buildings throughout the country.
The day dawned with special prayers for the security, progress, and prosperity of the country, while a change of guards ceremony also took place at the Mazar-i-Quaid in Karachi.
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah visited the Quaid’s mausoleum where they offered Fateha and laid floral wreaths together.
Special events are being arranged to highlight and promote the ideas and views of the Quaid-i-Azam during the day.
In their separate messages to the nation on the occasion, the top political leaders urged the people to follow in the footsteps of the Quaid in all walks of life and hold on to “courage and hope” while coping with the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Imran Khan message
In his message, Prime Minister Imran Khan paid tribute to Jinnah, saying: “In the modern history of mankind, there are a few people who garnered such wide popularity as our Quaid did. His determination to carve a nation out of chaos and relentless deprivation was miraculous and insuperable against all odds and challenges.”
Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI‘s Message on #QuaidDay
“On this eventful day when Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born, a proud nation was destined to come into being. pic.twitter.com/U1hUt0Ow9b
— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) December 25, 2020
He urged the nation to “pay a befitting homage to our great Quaid by following his footsteps in all walks of our lives.
“Let us live the Quaid’s ideals of Unity, Faith, and Discipline with a renewed national spirit so that we make this country rise above all seen and unseen challenges.”
President Arif Alvi message
President Arif Alvi in his message said “we should reaffirm our commitment to building a state that respects the diversity of its people and provides equal opportunities to its citizens irrespective of their religion, caste, creed or color,” Radio Pakistan reported.
“As we celebrate the 144th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, we pay him a rich tribute for his role in the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the sub-continent.”
Message from President Dr. Arif Alvi on Quaid-e-Azam Day. pic.twitter.com/Gg35s51Tvv
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) December 25, 2020
He asked the nation to also remember people of Indian-occupied Kashmir on this occasion; who he said: “are being subjected to the worst kind of state terrorism for over seven decades”.
Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa message
Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said the nation was celebrating the Quaid’s birth anniversary with “great reverence and commitment upholding his message of hope, courage & confidence”.
No power on earth can undo #Pakistan. “Nation celebrates #Quaid’s anniversary with great reverence and commitment upholding his message of hope, courage & confidence. Faith, Unity and Discipline shall always remain guiding principles of our great nation”, COAS
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) December 25, 2020
“Faith, Unity, and Discipline shall always remain guiding principles of our great nation,” the ISPR quoted him as saying.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi shared a quote by the Quaid to “serve as a reminder to us all; during these trying times of global pandemic”: ‘My message to you all is of hope, courage, and confidence.’
Today, as we reflect on on the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam, let his words serve as a reminder to us all, during these trying times of global pandemic: ‘My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence.’
Pakistan Zindabad! pic.twitter.com/25POf5Y2J9— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) December 25, 2020
PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari
PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari too paid tribute to the Quaid for founding the nation through a peaceful and democratic struggle, but he said Jinnah mission “is yet to be taken to its conclusion”.
“Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.”
— Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah of Pakistan pic.twitter.com/iCM37wAfci— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) December 25, 2020
The nation’s founder’s mission was the creation of “a strong Muslim-majority nation based on equality that is a role model for the entire ummah”; the PPP leader added.
Bilawal also said “instead of making the country an experiment and training factory for the selected and puppets”; the country needed a strong leadership that adhered to the Quaid’s democratic ideals.
Mr. Jinnah was a lawyer by profession and a politician. He served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until Pakistan’s independence on Aug 14, 1947; and then as Pakistan’s first governor-general until his death on Sept 11, 1948.
