OTHER VOICES

Seventy years ago today, Mohammad Ali Jinnah took to the floor of Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly as its first elected President and delivered the iconic lines, “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state”...

Seventy years later, Jinnah’s founding vision and direction for Pakistan have yet to be realised. Indeed, an argument can be made that this nation has drifted further than ever from the one that he had envisioned...

Most worryingly, Jinnah’s vision of a secular, constitutional democratic state focused on the welfare and material good of its people has itself fallen victim to hate and distortion. The very word “secular” is considered taboo by large sections of the polity. Democracy, too, is yet to be meaningfully accepted, with elected governments always vulnerable to undemocratic pressure and attack. What would Jinnah make of the sight of yet another ousted elected Prime Minister travelling down the fabled GT Road as political uncertainty and turmoil swirl across the political landscape again?

...The failure to address fundamental social inequalities is nearly at par with the crimes against democracy the country has suffered. It may take several more decades before a Pakistan more in line with Mr Jinnah’s aspirations can be established.