AFTER more than 62 years of the existence of Pakistan, there should have been little doubt in anyone's mind about the settled issue of its ideology. That ANP leader Haji Adeel has decided to take exception to the inclusion of the word Islamic in the nomenclature of the country and made certain other observations based on his assumptions about the nature of its polity, as supposedly visualised by Quaid-i-Azam, is unfortunate and reflects the confusion that continues to prevail in certain uninformed circles. It should be quite clear to everyone that Pakistan is an ideological state and that is acknowledged by well-known observers of politics in the international field. The father of the nation wanted Pakistan to be a modern, Islamic, pluralistic society run on the principles of the glorious religion of Islam. Of course, he did not favour a theocratic state for which there is no room in Islam; rather a nation that meets the various imperatives of democracy and that not only fits in well with the rest of the international community but is also a matter of pride for Muslims all over the world. Its working should be a beacon to the world to demonstrate what Islamic principles in action really meant. Instead of lamenting the marked deviation from Islamic principles caused by the leadership, both civilian and military, that has run the country so far in turns, the ANP leader has raised the issue of the religion of president and prime minister, which has to be seen in the light of the question whether a non-Muslim head of state or government would be able to preserve the Islamic character of the country. Reportedly, the ANP has also suggested giving the NWFP the name of Afghania to meet the objections to its earlier proposed nomenclature of Pakhtoonkhwa. But, interestingly, even the new proposal would raise many an eyebrow for its close resemblance with Afghanistan and does not take into account the wishes of the large non-Pashtun population inhabiting the province. Is there a deliberateness to creating these confusions at this particular time?