Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi on Tuesday paid rich tribute to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s visionary leadership in the struggle for a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent, saying that Pakistan came into being as a result of the tireless efforts of Muslim leaders under his leadership.
In a message issued on the occasion of Quaid-e-Azam’s birth anniversary, the chief minister said that the stability, development and prosperity of the homeland remained the foremost responsibility and priority of the nation.
He said that by adopting Quaid-e-Azam’s guiding principles of “Faith, Unity and Discipline” as a way of life, the dream of a developed and prosperous state could be realised. Referring to India’s increasingly hostile and anti-Muslim posture, Sohail Afridi said it had vindicated the decision to create a separate state for Muslims, adding that the establishment of Pakistan had been the only permanent solution to the problems faced by Muslims of the subcontinent.
The chief minister said the Pakistani nation had never hesitated to make sacrifices for the country’s security and sovereignty in the past and would continue to stand firm in defence of the motherland. He noted that Pakistan had been created as a result of immense sacrifices made by the forefathers, with the objective of establishing an Islamic welfare state, and stressed the need to realise this vision in its true spirit.
Sohail Afridi said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was taking practical steps in the light of Quaid-e-Azam’s principles of Faith, Unity and Discipline and was incorporating these principles into public policy and governance rather than limiting them to slogans. He added that reforms were being introduced to strengthen the rule of law, transparency, merit, social justice and public welfare, laying the foundations of the welfare state envisioned by the founder of the nation.
The chief minister reaffirmed that the provincial government was committed to utilising all available resources to build a just, peaceful and sovereign society in accordance with Quaid-e-Azam’s vision. He said no state could stand on its feet without uniform justice and the supremacy of law, adding that if Pakistan was to truly emerge as a strong and independent country, priorities would need to be reassessed and collective responsibility assumed for the country’s stability, security and future.
