We are so preoccupied with our personal interests and problems that we hardly have any time to spare for thinking about our founders and all those who made mammoth sacrifices to create Pakistan; a separate homeland for the Muslims where they could live with respect and dignity.
It is truly very unfortunate that we have bitterly failed to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of the icons who toiled day in, day out and fought on all fronts to make the creation of Pakistan a reality. Not only this, we have brazenly failed to pay them the respect that they so genuinely deserve.
Poet, philosopher and scholar of international renown, Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal who, alongside the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, played a pivotal role in the creation of Pakistan. He is an icon who has been bestowed with immense respect and recognition internationally. Unfortunately, however, we, as a nation, have done very little to express our gratitude and respect to him.
To pay our respect to this great personality, the incumbent government must declare November 9, the birthday of Allama Iqbal, as a national holiday. November 9, Iqbal Day, has long been declared as a public holiday in Pakistan until 2016 when the previous government callously decided to revoke its decision vis-à-vis November 9 as a national holiday. Restoration of November 9 as a national holiday to mark the birth anniversary of the national poet, Allama Iqbal, is the least that one would expect from the present government to seriously reconsider.
-M. FAZAL ELAHI
