The Karachi-based World Muslim Congress (WMC) recently organized, in cooperation with the Pakistan consulate, a cultural event called the “First Saudi-Pakistan friendship program” in Jeddah. The function was held on the occasion of the 74th Pakistan Resolution Day at the Ismail Abu Dawood Hall of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). A large number of Saudis and Pakistanis, including women and children, attended the event. It was a cultural fiesta for the attendees in which students from a number of Saudi and Pakistani schools staged artistic and folklore performances including the traditional Saudi Ardha dance, a flute recital, and some traditional Pakistani art forms. There was also recitation of poetry in Arabic and Urdu. The program commenced with the recitation of a few verses from the Holy Qur'an with an interpretation of the meaning. Then Dr. Abdullah Omer Naseef, chairman of the WMC and former secretary general of the Muslim World League (MWL), delivered his presidential speech in which he underscored the strength of Saudi and Pakistani relations. He said: “The WMC, with a Pakistani as its secretary general and a Saudi as its president, represents the harmonious relations between the two countries. Today's program will help bolster the bilateral relations between the two countries and their sisterly peoples.” In his speech, Consul General of Pakistan Aftab Ahmed Khokher said: “We have gathered here to celebrate one of the most remarkable relationships between two states and peoples. It is indeed a momentous occasion. Our brotherly relationship is marked by amazing commonality of interests and views on all issues of interest to our two peoples. It has its roots in an ideology that binds every Muslim and opens vistas for joint action.” Other speakers at the event included Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, secretary general of the WMC; Ambassador Muhammad Ahmad Al-Tayyab, permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Mohiuddin Yahya Hakimi, assistant JCCI secretary-general. They lauded the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries. The organizers of the event asked me to speak on the topic “Why Pakistan?", and in my speech, I dealt with the origin of the idea of Pakistan and its evolution, as well as the sacrifices made for its creation. I said that the seed of Pakistan was sown by Muhammad Bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi when he conquered Sindh. In the beginning of the 11th century CE, Ab? Al-Rayhan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Al-Biruni, one of the most learned men of his age, spoke about the idea that was later known as the two-nation theory. He noted that Muslims and Hindus had differences in everything. Then, it was the turn of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, and it was during his time that the Indian Rebellion of 1857 occurred. It was a struggle by Hindus and Muslims against the British under the leadership of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. The Rebellion was defeated by the British. Muslims considered it to be a humiliating defeat. At this crucial juncture, Sir Syed came forward to defend Muslims and blamed the British for the factors that resulted in the Rebellion. He had not taken part in the revolt. Sir Syed's profession as a judge enabled him to ensure the safety of several Europeans during the Rebellion. His dignified position in society helped him to realize the intensity of the backwardness of Muslims. Therefore, he recognized that their uplift was possible only through education. Sir Syed persuaded Muslims to learn the English language and modern sciences. He established a number of schools and a college, namely Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College, which later became Aligarh Muslim University, and the movement initiated by Sir Syed was known as the Aligarh Movement. Members of this movement were later in the forefront of the demand for Pakistan to be a separate homeland for Muslims in the Subcontinent, along with well-known personalities like Allama Iqbal, who is considered to be the architect of the two-nation theory. Some people say that it was Iqbal who first coined the word Pakistan but others do not agree with this. They say that Choudhry Rahmat Ali and his classmates at Oxford University were responsible for the name. According to reports, in 1933, Ali published a pamphlet called “Now or Never” coining the word Pakistan for the first time. However, the word Pakistan was first used in a practical way by Allama Iqbal, who was the president of the All India Muslim League. In his presidential speech at the annual conference of the Muslim League at Allahabad in 1930, Iqbal explained that Muslims are a people with a unique identity and are different from the other people of India and, therefore, they must have a separate independent nation, and that nation's name is Pakistan. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah worked for unifying the efforts of Muslims and Hindus to secure independence from British colonial rule and to continue as a unified nation even after independence. But with the passage of time, he realized that the Indian National Congress wanted to rule the country by itself which alienated Muslims. Allama Iqbal was able to convince Jinnah that there was no advantage for Muslims in replacing the rule of the British with that of the Hindu-dominated Congress, and that Muslims must have a separate nation for themselves. Subsequently, the annual conference of the Muslim League, held in Lahore in 1940, adopted the Pakistan Resolution. In 1944, Quaid-e-Azam sent a letter to Mahatma Gandhi in which he emphasized that Hindus and Muslims were two different nations with a different outlook on life. On the basis of this, the Subcontinent should be divided between Muslims and Hindus, he said. In subsequent elections, the Muslim League won a landslide victory in the regions where Muslims were in the majority. This was enough for the British and Hindus to be convinced that there was no alternative other than the partition of the Subcontinent between India and Pakistan. Accordingly, Pakistan came into being in 1947 after a long and bitter struggle, great efforts and sacrifices. I must also point out that those Muslims who migrated to Pakistan from different states of India were victims of the partition, especially those who migrated to East Pakistan. These people had to undergo sacrifices on two occasions – first during the partition and secondly during the secession of East Pakistan to create the new state of Bangladesh. More than a quarter of a million of these people have been languishing in crowded and squalid camps in Bangladesh for more than four decades. Their only demand is to fulfill their desire to be repatriated to the country of their choice - Pakistan.
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
