On Friday, Pakistan celebrates the sixty-second anniversary of its independence. Recently, the country has seen its fair share of ups and downs. Terrorism, communal violence and the economic and energy crises dominate headlines. But the resilience of the nation and its people has been expressed again and again – through a nationwide consensus against militancy, a national movement in favour of a free judiciary, a much-needed Twenty20 win, the generosity of host families in the face of mass displacement, and new initiatives to protect women’s and minorities’ rights.
In these trying yet optimistic times, what is your prayer for Pakistan? How do you serve your nation in an effort to make it the country you wish it could be? And where do you hope to see your country in another 20, 30, or 100 years?
The views expressed in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
My Pakistani Brothers & Sisters,
I wish you a Happy Independence Day.
We have a lot in common – we share our history; our struggle for independence and vigour to stand shoulder to shoulder with the West despite all problems. My friends, in this time of celebration, I’m standing beside you and wishing for only two things that a nation requires – peace and prosperity.
an Indian friend..
I pray that the spirit that we show on every August 14th, remains strong on August 15th and onward thru out the year till the next August 14th….
Showing Unity, everyday, and not just one day. Showing loyalty, by action and not just words. This can be done in many number of ways, obeying traffic laws, working hard and honestly in our jobs as adults, and working honestly during the school days.
We have to work on it everyday. We reap tomorrow the benefits from the seeds that we sow today, and everyday.
We have to monitor our next generation from the day they are born, and instill in them honesty from the start. To encourage them to be creative, use science and logic, respect the motherland, value its religion, and love one another. Only by example can we teach our children to be honest.
If our next generation turns out to be just the same as we are today, it won’t be their fault but ours. We need to set an example for the children, by practically showing them what respect is, what unity is, and what hard work is.
If we want a better tomorrow, collectively each and everyone of us need to stop our bad habits today, cheating, hyporacracy, not obeying the laws, using un-civil language, using religion as a tool of convenience whenever it suits us.
May Allah (S.W.T), guide us all, and make us realize where we are going wrong, not just leader, but each and everyone of us is responsible for the state our country is in today, afterall the leader come from within our society, they are the mirror of who we all have become.
We have the capacity to change, and hope is what makes the world go round. Till next August 14th, hopefully we all have made some positive changes within us. An ocean is made up of tiny droplets of water, and the purity of the ocean depends on purity of each and every droplet, we are the droplets of Pakistan, each and everyone of us.
So we all need to change for the better, so that a clean and prosperous Pakistan emerges. Do not wait for the others, or the leaders to change, change yourself for the better. Ameen.
Happy Birthday Pakistan.
We love you, still love you & will continue loving you.
You’re 62 today. Quite an achievement after what you’ve gone thru from your own mistakes & those thrust on you. Again thru the connivance, intrigue & irresponsibility of persons claiming the right to legislate (without paying taxes, defaulting on loans, gun running, drug smuggling, honor killing, racism and depriving the citizens of education & health care).
No problem my love, out of 160/170 million only 2.5 million pay taxes the chunk of which is paid by 1.8 million salaried individuals. Dont worry it will INSHALLAH go up but please dont beg the IMF & World Bank to write off the loans the GoP is unwilling to pay back.
Dont fret. Time & Tide wait for no one. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE, DONT RESIST IT.
I wish people keep religion at home.Pray at home.Do not commercilise religion for personel gain.
Pay more and more attention to education.All children must go to school to study any thing but religion.
Get rid of the the currupt.
happy birthday pakistan
i hope pakistan wiil be free from terrorism and have good relationship with india
inshaa allah
salaam-vallekom..
I think we the people should ask all our politicians to take an oath to uphold democrazy and work for the economic developement of the state, How long can we live off IMF and “friends of pakistan”. I think we should take tips from india regarding economic developement and higher education
inshallah
Wishing Pakistan a very prosperous and a peaceful future,
Rahim
Mumbai, India.
To my Beloved nation, ” May ALLAH’s BLESSINGS BE EVELASTING UPON YOU”.
if theres no action.. theres no reaction.. .all i see is a bunch of idealized patriotic people praying and hope… well my dear friends.. prayers and hopes can only do so much.. wake up..wake up to the reality.. smell the coffee.. the burning pot.. wake up and realize that even God doesnt help those who do not try to help themselves first.
the truth is.. we need a massive overhaul.. of unsizeable proportions.. we need to have our current politicians and our ccrrupt talibans stand ina line and make an example of them.. any one that ever stole a penny oughta be made and example of .. anyone that put primary interests over collective interests needs to be made an example of…
we will no let a fly squat in our house.. but spit our pans on every nooka that we can.. we need to be made an example of..
u can pray to eternity.. with people like us.. pakistan is not going anywhere.. it will always be a bundle of unfulfilled potential.. nothin more
May Pakistan regain its position as “The land of The Pure”. May the politicians start behaving honestly. May the Armed forces get back to their traditional role, to serve the citizens of the country. May the Rich reach out to the poor and share a bit of their wealth. May the country show generosity towards the minorities. May the madrassahs get to teach subjects other than religion only. May the jihadis be brought back into the main stream. All the best.
May the music, arts and sciences flourish.
I pray for a united PAKISTAN. I pray for peace with india. I pray that my taxes are put to good use that is for the development of the country and not to fill in the pockets of our corrupt leaders. I pray that musharaf comes back and Pakistan once again is recognized in the world for the positives it has not the negatives. Long live Pakistan, Pakistan army, the people of Pakistan and musharaf.
ours is a beautifull country and we are a free nation now lets join our hands and switch off one light bulb or a fan at our work place or homes and we can save 3000 MW of electricity. We can get out any problem only when we are going to be a part of this country not only as a silent spectator.
LONG LIVE PAKISTAN
Yes this is the theme, wish, pray, word and request all to follow it. Whatever it is, it is good, comfort, love, our identity. Wherever you live in the world but you will identify by Pakistani. Our culture, traditions, way of lie, our thinking, our response to others is unique. Whatever ease, confort is there , you will not find anywhere inthe world. Think like PAKISTAN FIRST. Make your way of life like this;
PAKISTAN FIRST.
Whatevery you can do, do it for your nation.
I pray that our great nation takes guidance from Iqbal’s poetry, understands the true spirit behind the Ideology of Pakistan and use the immense blessings of Allah in terms of nation’s resources to rise to the occasion and demonstrate that no force on earth can result in cracks in our ranks. May Allah give us courage and strength to remember our heroes like the Quaid, Iqbal, Liaqat Ali and Dr. AbdulQadeer Khan.
Pakistan rose from dust and ashes. There no quick fix to problems we inherited and are dealing with. In nations life 60’s years is not a long time, we are indeed a younger nation. History shows that nations makes mistakes , and pays price but that how the process of building takes place. Pakistan require our patience and trust, and we should be ready for steady but slow process to put all these scattered pieces together. And we should remember no matter how small our contribution is , it should be there. Pakistan is not an entity , its us , we the Pakistanis are Pakistan and until we doesn’t lose hope in our selves, Pakistan is alive and well. I pray that we find strength and wisdom that is needed to build a nation , a nation that knows its rightful place in the world. Our love for Pakistan should be directed to Pakistanis first.
Pakistan ZINDABAD!!!!
I wish it becomes the “peoples republic of Pakistan”.Spend more money on modern scientific education ,and health of its people. Has an independent foreign policy.Have harmonious relations with its neighbours.
I wish pakistan well on the eve of Independence day
My fondest memory of Pakistan and Pakistani people remains watching a cricket match together… as students in a foreign land. We had three bottles of paint – our national colours – orange, white and green and had started to paint our faces when we realized that our friends too wanted to join in the fun. And all we had to do was share with them our bottle of white and green paints !
Love is that simple
As an young Indian, I was taught a maxim that we cannot choose our neighbours but we can choose our friends. I choose my neighbours as my friends and irrespective of all the bad press that gets written on either side and all the ‘so called problems’ that exist, all of this will eventually come to pass.
If Europe can overcome its hatred from past wars and work together for a better future, why can the sub-continent not do it ? Yes, it will take some time and with time, better sense will prevail. So to all my friends and neighbours from across the border – my heartfelt wishes on your Independence Day.
For tomorrow is a new day.
Wish Pakistani citizens the courage to move their leaders against the terrorist. Remember these terrorists are not robots where you can have total control. Therefore let the souls of Iqbal and Jinnah provide strength to you all to wipe off this menace. A terrorist free Pakistan is in interest of entire world.
I wish your COAS, President and PM very best.
That as a nation we learn road/traffic etiquette . once it happens it will bring everything with it.
A- national character
B- unity, discipline
C- fear of law etc
this will revolutionize everything.
My prayer for Pakistan is that we find a good leader, as we are in desperate need of good leadeship. And I pray that every pakistani starts believing that we as a country are much better than where we are at this moment, a little effort from everyone and we would be a great nation that our Quaid wanted us to be.
Long Live Pakistan
Proud To Be A Pakistani..
Happy birthday Pakistan..
I wish my country every sucess in coming future. It may seem like that we are in a state of disarray, but come on people we have seen this before and we are strong enough to cope with these issues and Inshallah we will.
Thanks to one great Quaid..
Pakistani for life
Shoaib Zulfiqar
O God Please give wisdom to Pakisanis to reprodue at a much slower pace (ideally negatively), wisdom to make artificial lakes to retain rain waters as glacier ice melts away, wisdom to produce cheap electricity and above all … wisdom to reason critically and get over their stockholm syndrome of run of the mill politicians.
I know that is too much to ask for but you will never have a better chance to assert your presence if you can deliver this
I wish every citizen of pakistan gets education.
Our biggest problem is not poverty (although it remains a very big problem but certainly not the biggest).
Our biggest problem is ignornace.
Education teaches not only how to earn your livelihood but also:
how to tackle problems
how to accept criticism
how to face untoward attitudes
how to forgive and forget
how to respect others
how to remain humble even if you get great success AND
above all to remain optimistic in the toughest times and not to relinquish social sense
I feel it doesnt really matter what we think- what really matters is what Pakistan at this stage of crossroad wants Us to think and more importantly DO?
My prayer is for us to realize our potential, for us to choose from within, the difference between right and wrong, the power to quell the urge to commit malice, fraud, lies etc –
For us to instill values and morals in our kids, to impart the right information and ensure it doesnt get distorted –
I pray that WE PAKISTANIs behave like Pakistanis, like a nation in dire need of solidarity, unity and unification –
That is the ONLY way we can save our nation from total disarray and demolition or whatever little is left of it !