The Quaid, who is also regarded as the Father of the Nation, had left behind Pakistan, as well as his three golden principles ie Unity, Faith and Discipline, for the leaders and people of Pakistan, to follow strictly and in letter and spirit in every sphere of life.
They would ensure success, higher glories and greater achievements for the nation and the country. In all fairness, the people followed these golden principles of the Father of the Nation or tried to adhere to these, despite the early passing away of the Quaid-i-Azam. Unity, Faith and Discipline were inscribed in government offices and public offices to remind the people of what the Father of the Nation expected from them, to make a stronger, united Pakistan.
As long as the golden principles of the great leader were being followed by and large, things seemed to be moving in the right direction. Then, somehow, the golden principles started disappearing and regretfully replaced, gradually, by disunity, ill-faith and indiscipline in every sphere of life. The result was quite obvious. Leadership started failing to deliver the goods, the government changed frequently and indiscipline and disunity, demonstrated amply in the central and provincial legislatures.
The democratic civilian set up started whithering away much sooner than expected and just after eleven years of Pakistan coming into being and about a decade after the demise of the Father of the Nation, the civilian government of Prime Minister Malik Feroze Khan Noon was toppled, in October 1958, by the then Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army General Muhammad Ayub Khan.
The National Assembly was dissolved and the 1956 Constitution scrapped. This was just the beginning. In less than quarter of a century Pakistan was dismembered and East Pakistan became Bangladesh after the India-backed war. The great tragedy of the Fall of Dacca was due to factors yet to be identified despite the fact-finding report of Justice Hamoodur Rahman Commission.
Civilian governments changed, replaced in quick succession with military intervention always around the corner. As Pakistan celebrates the 62nd Independence anniversary, the nation has witnessed four Army Chiefs assuming power, by toppling civilian governments of Prime Ministers Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif. The first military ruler General Ayub Khan, who on his own, had assumed the title of Field Marshal, was forced out of power by General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, who was the Army Chief. Incidentally, all military rulers also assumed the highest office of the land and became the President.
All this and much more had happened and is happening in the Motherland because there is no vision, and no governance despite all the tall claims by the rulers. Over the years, the golden principles of the Quaid-e-Azam have either been forgotten or placed in store rooms. So much so, that the portraits of the Quaid-e-Azam are seldom seen in the pictorial coverage of the President, the Prime Minister, the Governors and the Chief Ministers.
They prefer to have photographs of their own leaders, rather that the Father of the Nation around, when they are talking to some visiting dignitary from abroad or within the country. It is to be pondered why there is no unity, no faith and no discipline and where the Unity, Faith and Discipline have withered away.
What is more painful is that the leaders continue to pay lip service to the Father of the Nation but do not take practical steps for inculcating the golden principles of Unity, Faith and Discipline. No doubt, we as a nation have suffered and lost much and gained little, all these years, but still all is not yet lost, provided we have leadership with vision.