KARACHI - Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mahmood Hayat Thursday said there was no power on earth which could undo Pakistan.
“The treatment meted out in India to the minorities, especially the Muslims, clearly justified the creation of Pakistan in 1947,” he said in his key-note address at a conference organised here by Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) in collaboration with Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Center for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), according to an IBA press release.
General Zubair said the forefathers under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had foreseen the problems the Muslims of Sub-continent were likely to face.
He said the Two-Nation Theory explaining Muslims and Hindus being two separate nations was first adopted by Al-Biruni some 900 years back, who in his book had stated that “this part of the world was inhabited by two separate nations - Hindus and Muslims.”
He said creation of Pakistan was not only the result of tireless efforts of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah but also the valuable contributions made by common people.
“We are the custodians of some of the world’s oldest civilizations and there is no power on earth which can undo Pakistan,” he added.
The CJCSC said every nation made mistakes and learnt from them as the United States had made mistakes in Afghanistan and now realized that the solution to Afghan problem lay in political reconciliation.
Addressing the conference, Sindh Minister for Environment Taimur Talpur said the armed forces with the backing of the nation fought and won a very tough war against terrorism despite the fact that country was subjected to both internal and external threats.
He said the nation’s future was safe as “our younger generation is capable of steering this country to the glory and height that it deserves.”
Former senator Javed Jabbar said history and civilization bound together the people of Pakistan regardless of their caste, colour, ethnicity and religion.
Notwithstanding the importance of Mohanjo Daharo and Harrappa, he said the Mahargar Civilization whose traces were found in Sibi Balochistan was 11000 years old as it was originated in 9000 BC just 1000 after the signs of settled life on earth were traced. He said the Pakistani nation was ethnically diverse and that was its strength. He said he had identified 41 elements of Pakistaniat.
PICSS Chairman Major General (R) Saad Khattak said despite facing numerous challenges Pakistan was bound to remain intact. With conviction and devotion, there was nothing that one could not achieve.
He said the country had achieved notable success in the war against terrorism. The war could not be fought effectively without focusing on its ideological front, he added.
He highlighted PICSS motive behind organizing such conferences. The extremist forces were creating doubts in the minds of younger generation and the PICSS was making efforts to help the nation fight that war on ideological front, he added.
He said the concept of Pakistaniat was above religious, sectarian and ethnic lines that “make us one nation”.
Acting Executive Director IBA Saeed Ghani said Pakistaniat was the concept of peace and tolerance. He highlighted the importance of freedom of speech and expression and said that sense of association with the country brought him back from abroad to serve this nation.