Kawish Resource Center (KRC), in collaboration with the Catholic Women’s Organization (CWO), has organized a colorful get together at the Bishop Inayat Masih Hall of the National Council of Churches in Lahore to share contribution of all communities – Muslims, Christians, Hindus and others – in Pakistan’s National Independence Day on August 14, 1947, under the leadership of Quaid-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah – founder of the nation.
Addressing on the occasion, Kawish Resource Center Executive Director Asif Sardar extended felicitations to all fellow Pakistanis living throughout the length and breadth of the motherland on the National Independence Day, and said that they always consider the green-white flag as a symbol of honor and hold it dearer than their lives. “Pakistan is our identity that we earned through massive sacrifices, and countless people gave their blood to kindle the light of freedom,” he said.
Archdiocese of Lahore’s Apostolic Administrator Archbishop Benny Mario Travas in a message shared his best wishes for the organizers and audience. Genevieve Ram Lal, senior officer Anees-Ur-Rahman, Father Asif Sardar, Dr Ayra Indrias Patras, Risala Today Editor-In-Chief Muhsen Ali Turk, Naqash Azam, Fouiza Anil, Shaheen Yousaf, Kawish Resource Center Program Director Nighat Tariq, Pandit Bhaghat Lal, Shamila Iqbal, and others also shared their opinion on the occasion.
Anees-Ur-Rahman, senior government official, shared details of the sacrifices of elders for the future of Pakistan’s next generation, and said the nation would always remember their forefathers with all due respect. “We also pay homage to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for providing us a sincere and honest leadership. With a highly dignified stature, he proved that with honesty and steadfastness, a nation can surmount all difficulties and that character and determination are keys to ultimate success,” he said.
Dr Ayra Indrias Patras, member of the National Commission on the Status of Women, told the audience that the National Independence Day also invites the nation to self-accountability. “Our forefathers had played their due role but we should ask ourselves if we fulfilled our responsibilities,” she said. “We must remember that Pakistan’s national independence in 1947 was not a case of aggression against any other nation, but the demand for a separate homeland was a practical solution for establishing a permanent peace in the subcontinent,” she said.
“We can realize that there are so many reasons for optimism despite so many reservations. We can make a fresh start with renewed determination, as we have the light that will turn despair into hope,” Dr Ayra Indrias Patras, who is Assistant Professor at Lahore’s Forman Christian College University, told the audience. “We have to rebuild Pakistan with a view to establish supremacy of the constitution, rule of law, stability of democratic institutions, opportunities and protection for all citizens without any prejudice, and assimilating economy on strong footings,” she said.
Addressing the event, other speakers urged the government to fully protect rights, freedom, and dignity of minorities as equal heirs of the state. They said that Pakistan was founded on the golden principles of justice, equality, and tolerance, and it must remain committed on these foundations. They praised contributions of minorities in education, healthcare, politics, and other sectors, describing their role as a shining chapter in Pakistan’s history. At the end, the participants received shields and flowers from the organizers.
PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS
