JEDDAH — The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) organized a function to mark the birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah at a local restaurant here recently. Paying glowing tributes to the nation's founding father, speakers called on Pakistanis to adhere to the ideals and principles Jinnah espoused. Saudi intellectual and writer Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi said Jinnah was not only a leader of Pakistan but of the entire Muslim world. He accomplished an “impossible mission” by attaining freedom for the Muslims of the subcontinent on the basis of the two-nation theory. Al-Ghamdi, a former diplomat, said Jinnah embraced the two-nation theory after a number of socio-political developments convinced him the need for separate statehood for Muslims of the subcontinent. Eventually Pakistan was established after a lot of sacrifices by Muslims, especially by those from Bihar. They again rendered sacrifices to safeguard the integrity of the nation in 1971. Al-Ghamdi regretted that those who had made numerous sacrifices in East Pakistan were abandoned by the Pakistan government to live in squalid camps in Bangladesh. Chief guest Saeed Al-Farha said he was highly impressed by Jinnah's leadership. He praised Pakistan's constructive role in the Muslim world. “Pakistanis are intelligent, hardworking and committed people and played an important role in Saudi Arabia's development," he said, adding that he hoped a solution would be found to the issue of stranded Pakistanis soon. Azeez Ahmed, general secretary of Pakistan Engineers' Society, lauded PRC's efforts to highlight the plight of the stranded Pakistanis. He said Pakistan should stick to the teachings of Jinnah and Allama Iqbal to overcome the problems the country is facing. Tayyab Mosani, secretary-general of Pakistan Memon Association said by adhering to Jinnah's principles of “Unity, Faith and Discipline” Pakistan could achieve real progress. Abu Farhan SIddiqui, general secretary of the Muslim Welfare and Development Organization (MWDA), spoke about his organization's activities to support the stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh camps. PRC convener Syed Ehsanul Haque said, “It is our national obligation to educate the young generation about the creation of Pakistan so that they can understand and carry forward the mission of Jinnah and Iqbal." Sheikh Mohamamd Luqman, Mohammad Amanatullah and community leader Shamsuddin Altaf also spoke. The meeting adopted several resolutions calling on world bodies to step up efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue as well as the plight of the stranded Pakistanis. It urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to relaunch the initiative to repatriate stranded Pakistanis back home and called on the Pakistani government to assign its high commissioner in Dhaka to look after the interests of 250,000 Pakistanis confined to camps across Bangladesh. Hamid Islam Khan conducted the program. — SG
