On 23 March, the 77th Pakistan Day was celebrated across the country with great national fervour and zeal. The nation commenced celebrations for this auspicious day with a solemn pledge to make the country stronger by crushing the menace of terrorism, achieving economic prosperity and establishing political stability. The highlight of the day was the joint military parade, which was held at Parade Ground in Islamabad. To show their full support , co-operation and strong ties with Pakistan, Chinese and Saudi troops and a Turkish military band also featured at this magnificent event. President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, chairman joint chiefs of staff committee and services chiefs, Chief of the National Defence Forces of South Africa General Solly Zacharia Shoke, federal cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, foreign dignitaries and diplomats witnessed the impressive parade.

President Mamnoon Hussain, in his speech, said: “We desire peace and friendship with the whole world, particularly our neighbours. We are ready for dialogue with India and desire that Kashmir, an unfinished agenda of partition of the subcontinent should be resolved in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations.” “It is because of the sacrifices of our martyrs that Pakistan today is safer than before. Let me make it clear that after operation Zarb-e-Azb, actions against the remaining terrorists under operation Radd-ul-Fasaad will continue till their elimination,” he said.

Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, paying tributes to the martyrs and injured personnel of the armed forces, termed them “true heroes of the nation who sacrificed their today for the safety of the nation and the country”. In fact, the day commemorates the passing of the historic Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940, when the All-India Muslim League demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent to protect their fundamental rights in the then British colony of India. Under the leadership of the great Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Muslims of the subcontinent achieved Pakistan after rendering untold sacrifices , facing gigantic difficulties, tackling overwhelming problems and tolerating acute sufferings.

The day also reminds us that all the ideals and purposes for which Pakistan was created have not yet been achieved and fulfilled. There is no social, political, economic and judicial equality in the country. There is no tolerance, fraternity, harmony, unity, enlightenment, prosperity and peace in the country. Tragically, after losing East Pakistan in 1971, the state of Pakistan is still fighting for its very survival. All the ills, factors and causes which have proved instrumental in the dismemberment of Pakistan are still prevalent in the country. Violence, corruption, extremism, sectarianism, feudalism, provincialism, parochialism, prejudice, favouritism, nepotism, illiteracy, poverty, selective and delayed justice, a sense of exploitation among the deprived people and classes, wrong distribution of resources and jobs among the provinces, class-based education system, external forces, traitors, an unpatriotic, immoral and venal ruling class are militating against the stability of Pakistan, and its progress.

In fact, Pakistan’s real tragedy is that after the demise of the Quaid-e-Azam and assassination of Liaqat Ali Khan, the people of the country have seen only a weak, immoral, cruel, corrupt and unpatriotic ruling elite. This ruling elite, including politicians, religious leaders, civil-military officers, businessmen, feudal lords, social groups, pressure groups, technocrats, policy and decision makers, etc., is ruling the people by following the system and example of the British Raj. It is only interested in plundering the country and keeping the people of Pakistan ignorant, poor, helpless, weak, divided and fearful by maintaining the status quo and introducing pro-elite policies and laws . It is the masters of the country, which do not want to serve the people . They, especially politicians, feel no shame in seeking help and support from other countries, like America, England, Saudi Arabia, etc., to achieve power and rule in Pakistan. WikiLeaks has already exposed almost all the political parties like the PPP, the PML-N, the MQM and the JUI-F and their leaders  who have sought help from America to get to power and rule in Pakistan. The political leaders  have become so immoral and unpatriotic that they take pride in getting personal financial help from other countries’ rulers. This “conflict of interests” is jeopardising Pakistan’s interests and security . Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has confessed in the Supreme Court that the Sharif family has taken financial help from the Qatari ruling family. He has also accepted that his family has flats in England. It is also said that Nawaz Sharif has even taken money from Osma bin Ladin and the ISI to win elections against the PPP leader Benazir Bhutto. The Asghar Khan case , Ishaq Dar’s affidavit, BBC’s documentary and Raymond William Baker’s book, Capitalism’s Achilles Heel, clearly prove that Nawaz Sharif and his family are very corrupt.  Ex-president and chief of the army Pervez Musharraf has also accepted that the late Saudi King, Abdullah, had given him one million dollars as a friend. Former president of Pakistan and leader of the PPP Asif Ali Zardari is also a very corrupt politician. He has accepted in the UK court that Surrey Palace is his property. All these politicians are not only corrupt but also traitors because they have betrayed the people and the country.

Recently, Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador in the US during the PPP government, has written in an article published in the Washington Post, “The relationships I forged with members of Obama’s campaign team also led to closer cooperation between Pakistan and the United States in fighting terrorism over the three and-a-half years I served as ambassador. These connections eventually enabled the United States to discover and eliminate bin Laden without depending on Pakistan’s intelligence service or military, which were suspected of sympathy toward Islamist militants.
“Friends I made from the Obama campaign were able to ask, three years later, as National Security Council officials, for help in stationing U.S. Special Operations and intelligence personnel on the ground in Pakistan. I brought the request directly to Pakistan’s civilian leaders, who approved. Although the United States kept us officially out of the loop about the operation, these locally stationed Americans proved invaluable when Obama decided to send in Navy SEAL Team 6 without notifying Pakistan,” wrote Hussain Haqqani.

Although the PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari has distanced himself and his party from Hussain Haqqani’s article and views, it is a fact that Pakistan’s security interests have been compromised during the PPP’s government. Ugly memories of Memogate are still fresh in the minds of Pakistanis.  The PML-N’s present government is also full of traitors. Dawn Leaks clearly show that there are many unpatriotic members in the PML-N government, who want to defame the army. By slandering the army, the PML-N’s traitors have tried to demoralise soldiers who are fighting the war against terror very bravely. Roman philosopher, politician and constitutionalist, Marcus Tullius Cicero, has aptly said, “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.”