Pakistan Independence Day 
AKISTAN is observing its 64th Independence Day today. Whereas the Daily Mail would like to extend its felicitations to the nation, it is cognizant of the fact that the country, which was created in the Holy Month of Ramadan, 63 years ago, is beset by a deluge of calamities. One third of Pakistan including Punjab, the bread basket is submerged under flood waters. The drowning populace, is hardly aware of the advent of Ramadan, let alone observe the Independence Day. They say that when trouble comes, it does so in armies and not single columns. Pakistan’s woes and miseries were multifold, wanton terror attacks, acute power outages, extreme lawlessness, a shattered economy, a parliament full of fraudsters, who had submitted fake degrees, unemployment, poverty and lack of education and health facilities; if that were not enough, the heavens opened up to bring unprecedented rain followed by wild torrents of flood, which have swept away, bridges, roads, houses, cattle and the people. Despite this extreme trial and tribulation, the catastrophes cannot take away the people’s resilience and will to bounce back. The people of Pakistan know that their indomitable courage and spirit will enable them to pull out of the present morass and they will bounce back. Even under this severe test of the people, the devout have much to thank the Almighty for. They know that their miseries are temporary. Tomorrow the flood will pass and they will be able to build back their lives. Pakistan has been beset by calamities earlier too. The fall of Dhaka in 1971, the devastating earthquake of 2005 and numerous other catastrophes of grave magnitude have come and gone. The fact remains that the people of Pakistan are unique. They rise to the occasion to help their brothers and sisters in distress. Mostly it is not the opulent class, but the impoverished ones, who gather scraps but rush to help their countrymen in moments of distress. They are the ones who line up to donate blood or even their lifesavings whenever the occasion arose. It is these people, who are the real assets of Pakistan.
They know the value of their freedom. They have seen the Kashmiris and Palestinians struggle for over six decades but liberty eludes them. The struggle of the founding fathers, their sacrifices bore fruit in the shape of Pakistan, an independent homeland for the Muslims of the Sub-Continent. Without Pakistan, the Muslims would be another downtrodden numerical in the vast sea of minorities in India, which the upper class Hindu Brahmins, crushes under its boots, kills, maims and tortures at will. Pakistan is the safe haven, which gave hope to the millions, who migrated to in 1947, when the partition of India took place. They were unfortunate to be residing in areas that did not fall under the territory of Pakistan, yet they gave up their modest belongings and their mass exodus was towards freedom under the shelter Pakistan promised. They were set upon by savage Hindu rioters, who looted the caravans of the refugees, raped their women and killed their men. The brutal mobs could not hold back the deluge of humanity. That was the first test for the fledgling nation; cash strapped, devoid of resources to feed and house the teeming millions, yet it survived. Today Pakistan has much to take pride in. It is nuclear capable, has a vibrant Army, which is bending backwards to aid its countrymen in their moment of distress, an upcoming industry and fields and crops which may have been destroyed by floods this year, but the fertile alluvium left behind will ensure better crops next year. Hope springs eternal in the human breast.m The Daily Mail would still greet its readers on the occasion of the 64th Independence Day, since there is always tomorrow, which is the harbinger of hope and glad tidings for the future.
