President Zardari Urges Nation to Follow Quaid’s Principles

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan News: President Asif Ali Zardari has urged the country to unite and reclaim the values, which Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah bequeathed to the nation as his heritage.

“I wish to felicitate the nation on the Quaid’s birth anniversary and urge the people to forge unity in their ranks to preserve and protect their democratic and political rights and thereby make Pakistan a shining example of prosperity and progress,” Zardari said in his message to the nation on the Quaid’s 133rd birth anniversary.

He reiterated that to strengthen democracy, the Constitution will soon be rid of all undemocratic clauses to make it truly federal and democratic in character in accordance with the vision of the founding fathers.

Zardari said Jinnah’s birthday was a day of rededication to the ideals and principles of the Father of the Nation. “It is a day of introspection and reflection, to pause and ponder as to what steps we can take to protect the ideals and principles for which the Quaid created this homeland,” he said.

Separately, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said the best tribute the country could pay to Jinnah was allegiance to the principles that he had espoused in his life and the values, which he had promoted throughout his career.

“The country’s architect had achieved a miracle through his own determination and the spirit of self-sacrifice shown by the Muslims of the subcontinent. He led Muslims out of their perplexities and frustration to freedom and gave shape, significance and direction to their quest for liberty,” the PM said. “Jinnah’s birth anniversary calls for reappraisal of the situation and rededication to the national cause. He stood for the rule of law, for freedom and democracy, for social justice and or discipline and ordered progress,” Gilani added.