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.
i pray to Allah Almighty for the betterment of Pakistan as a country on all the lines where prevails Justice & equality, rule of law & religious tolerance.
Allah almighty may give Pakistan a sincere leadership which could work for eradication of; corruption,Poverty,provincial disharmony& nepotism.
Pakistan zindabad!
God bless Pakistan.
I pray to God to make us a nation from a crowd of people. God bless Pakistan.
Sohni dhartti Allah rakhay kadam kadam abad thujhay kadam kadam abad………Ameen
I hope for peace and progress, of course. I hope and pray that Pakistani men will realize that to get anywhere they must start respecting women and taking care of their children. We can’t get anywhere when half of our population is ignored and our future–the children–are deprived of good education, among other things.
First of all Happy Birthday Pakistan and to all the countrymen.
Pakistan is a blessing for us and there is no country like ours in the worlds. I have travelled to different countries but no country is like Pakistan. Pakistan has all that we could wish for but due to our leaders ignorance and lack of vision we have not been able to fulfil the vision of Quaid for the country to be strong, prosperous and unity to be maintained.
I as rest of us can pray for Pakistan and Insha Allah don’t lose hope we have a bright future ahead of us. Insha Allah.
I only could appeal for you to give bit of your time in building Pakistan as this is for our children’s future. Promote Pakistan to others so we could erase the perception people have of Pakistan. This is especially to those who live abroad in western countries.
May Allah protect Pakistan. Ameen.
Dil Dil Pakistan
Jaan Jaan Pakistan
Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan
I love you Pakistan
Pakistan Zindabaad Paindabaad.
With the immense potential, with respect to its geopolitical situation, natural resources and 160+million workforce, there is no reason why a country like Pakistan cannot succeed, and inshallah it will!. We just need to be honest and believe in ourselves, and get rid of this religious extremism which has destroyed the national fabric.
I wish the nation a very Happy Birthday, and I always pray and look forward to happier days.
Pakistan Zindabad
I pray to GOD to give Pakistan at least one dynamic and honest leader who is ready to put real national interest above his personal matters will be enough to put Pakistan on the right track. But that seems like wishful thinking, because prayer alone is not going to change anything in Pakistan.
I wish (like many of my fellow country men) and pray for peaceful, united and prosperous Pakistan. Pakistan that helps every one of its citizens to prosper, excel in all fields; become the role model for the region and the world. Pakistan with its immense natural resources and brain power can achieve this with ease if the nation decides to spend its energies in right direction.
Pakistan should do away with its India centric polities focus in the development of its human resources. Most of us Indians and our government always wish for progressive and prosperous Pakistan. Let’s eradicate poverty in our region completely by joining our forces in right direction. God bless Pakistan!
We know our past and are unaware of the future, I just pray for the betterment of the PRESENT Pakistan. Why worry about the future at a time when what we really need is a better present.
Pakistan has come a long way amidst the desperate attempts of some forces to bring her down. As a Pakistani, I can adamantly say that we may be slow but we are here to stay. Being the best person one could be, in terms of morally and as a human will eventually lead to a corrupt-free Pakistan and that is what all of us should do. To be accountable for ourselves. And just be a better human being to make a better Pakistan. Lets give Pakistan the glory she deserves.
On Its 62ND birth day I wish Pakistan a bright future with prosperity for its citizens. Being an Indian, I have all love for Pakistani People and all hatred for its autocratic rulers who consistently tried to create a wedge between the two nations only to serve their selfish goals and not at all for any benefit to its citizens. India & Pakistan can together bring in an era of prosperity & peace in the region.
Bismillah, I wish and pray Allah swt showers His grace and mercy upon Pakistan and help protect and defend it from its internal and external enemies. I humbly supplicate to the Almighty to unite, integrate, assimilate and homogenize all Pakistanis so that all ethnic groups, provincial nationalities, religious sects andextremists are united as ONE PAKISTAN; that there be no Punjabi,Pakthun,Baloch, Sindhi, Kashmiri etc.
On her 63rd B’Day I wish Pakistan a happy tomorrow so that India could enjoy a happy today!
Yes, I mean it. For a happy India is unconceiveable without a happy Pakistan.
Adlai Stevenson once said: What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility … a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.
Lets work to build a better Pakistan. If not for us then for our children. My eyes see a bright future for Pakistan, a future filled with hope and prosperity.
Pakistan Zindabad.
I can only pray and hope and so i pray and i hope for the best for Pakistan. I love my country with all my heart and hurts to see it suffer. All i can say is don’t ask what your country has given you but what you have given to your country? I promise i will give.
Pakistan is a country which has a lot going for it – it has fertile land in large tracts, entrepreneurial people, a binding religious force for most of the people, Nobel Prize winners, Peace Prize winners, an ability to laugh at their own foibles (this is a great strength, not seen across many nations), victorious cricket ,wrestling, squash, hockey sporting legacies, a thriving bunch of intellectuals/poets/writers and a happiness index as per a recent international poll, which places them much ahead of most neighbours !I am sure there are many more things Pakistanis can add to this; it is just some top of the mind thoughts.
I think one should take quiet pride and build on ones strengths and in have a steely resolve to kill weaknesses in poverty, feudalism ,lack of trust amongst others.
Wishing you the best on your 62nd,
ANUJ
First of all let me say Happy Birthday to my beloved country and countrymen. Surely Pakistan has been in most difficult times in past and present but bright future awaits us if we as a nation wants to have it. Lets join hands in doing root cause analysis of mistakes that put us in this position. We should make an effective resolution how we should proceed for greater success and practically individually implement that resolution around us. Resolution must be “Unity; Faith and Discipline” in all walks of life
Surely Pakistan is here to stay InshAllah till end of World and very soon we the Pakistanis would be hailed as a great developed nation.
” may Allah help us achieve that” Ameen
It is usually better, if not easier, to take a positive approach in any difficult situation.
The first step to any self improvement is to move away from finger pointing to accepting self responsibility. The second step is put the nation above ones community even at the cost of some loss of communal/linguistic identity. Having read through various posts on Dawn’s blogs/forums it appears that the need to take these steps is being felt strongly.
I suspect the new generations of citizens who are yet to be born will inherit a prospering nation and will look back at these ‘lost decades’ as the years of soul searching and building of the nation’s identity. While the current generation struggles, these years will be a bunch of pages in the history books in the future. The new generation will look ahead and not spend too much time dwelling about the past.
But the key ingredient for the emergence of the progressive and prosperous New Pakistan is not its current GDP, military influence, religion, fertility of the land…, it really is your collective hopes and aspirations. To be true to your country take these first two important steps with more hope and less trepidation, with more tolerance and less malice. Relish the small victories as they add up to larger successes. Don’t dwell on the past or compare yourselves to others.
It may seem that all this may be easier said than done. But the least you can do for our country is to adopt this as your new way of life at your individual level. Learn to be at peace with your individual self first.
We will never be a modern, economically vibrant and democratic nation until we don’t fulfil honestly what was stated by the founder our nation on 11 August 47. Our present leaders should be courageous to separate the religious affair from the state affair. Our Quid believed that every individual should be guaranteed the freedom of his religious practice by the state but the state must not have any religion. He stated that no matter who you are and which religion do you have, the fact is that you are Pakistani. This is the only way in which our nation can succeed and can DEFEAT the religious terrorists, their violence and their bigotry.
Pakistan Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow I my opinion was, is & Inshallah will remain a great country contributing to the peace and prosperity of its peoples and the world community. No doubt Pakistan had its share of ups and downs and as a strategic move Pakistan was made to shoulder responsibilities beyond its means & requirements. By the grace of Allah Pakistan stood the test of time and proved to the world about its commitment towards international cause. The way Pakistan survived the stormy weather all these years is commendable, had there been another country with the same test of time and hindrance, surely it would perished. I pray to Almighty Allah to protect Pakistan from all evils, make it stronger, make it peaceful and a contributor to international peace.
My wish for my nation to be what it was meant to be- to be what Muhammad Ali Jinnah dreamed for.
I know that the times are difficult, everything seems bad. But atleast I will never give up on Pakistan.
We deserve democracy, we deserve socio-economic prosperity & a strong defence, just like any other great nation.
Those who think ‘we’ don’t deserve it- should actually say ‘i’ don’t deserve it, don’t talk about the rest of Pakistan in that manner, leave this place if it pleases you.
My best wishes for Pakistan, & i know perhaps we will be going through turbulent times for the next 5-10 years(god forbid) but we will make out of it one day. Inshallah.
First and foremost I wish Pakistan all the best. I am an Indian (want to get that out of the way). When I was young in my early teens… I was an idealist. I wanted India and Pakistan to be like brothers… watching each others back and helping each other… like family. Then I grew older and in my early twenties I realized the white sheet of peace I had wrapped around the ideal of Indian-Pakistani brotherhood was a little ripped and soiled… nothing that couldn’t be fixed! I had heard of the wars in the 60’s and 70’s but that was the past. I still had hope. Then I was almost 30
I witnessed KARGIL! The white sheet of idealism and brotherhood was in tatters. I became a cynic. I still wish Pakistan all the best… BUT I am not so sure it will help. ANYWAY… as a good neighbor… I will still hope and pray that SOMEBODY in Pakistan sees the light of day and learns how to get along as decent neighbours.
JAI SHREE RAM.
Pakistan descended into a number of crises within weeks of its creation, the mother of all crises, though, was its inability to produce a transcendent leadership. It is pity that 62 years were not enough to bringforth a sincere leader. The nation is extremely disappointed with the corruption and indifference of successive governments. We still have a long way to go. My prayer for the country is that may Allah have mercy on us and bestow us with a virtuous leader.
My prayer is that The Islamic Republic of Pakistan becomes simply The Republic of Pakistan. Not only would this reflect Jinnah’s vision of a secular society serving the interests of British India’s Muslims but it would mean that all Pakistanis, including religious minorities, could identify fully with the nation.
If democracy automatically means that the majority has the greatest say, then a country with a majority Muslim popualation need not be an “Islamic Republic.” It can be merely a Republic, as the interests of that majority would be automatically represented.
Additionally, this would go a long way in stopping the slide towards fundamentalism and a false “Arab Nationalism” that began under the sinister regime of Gen Zia. it would allow Pakistan to build its own identity through its own rich, multi-ethnic culture, rather than importing homogenized ideas.