LAHORE, March 23: Former senator and Supreme Court judge Dr Javid Iqbal has said the Quaid-i-Azam wanted Pakistan a federal democratic state with equal rights for all people without any religious discrimination. Unfortunately, Pakistan could not follow the Quiad’s principles during the past 60 years of its existence, and the state was neither Islamic, nor democratic and welfare state.

He was speaking at a meeting held to celebrate Pakistan Day by the Nazaria-i-Pakistan Foundation and the Pakistan Movement Workers Trust at their auditorium here on Friday.

He said the Quaid’s speech at the inaugural session of the Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, clearly indicated that he wanted Pakistan to have a constitution with equal rights for its people on the pattern of Medina Charter of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which had provided equal rights to all the people of Medina, including the Jews and Christians along with the Muslims.

It was the first written constitution of the world and the Quaid’s speech was exactly in accordance with the charter’s principles. He said that the Quaid had visualised Pakistan as a state with equal rights along with federal, parliamentary, democratic system and independent judiciary separate from the executive. Such a state could be role model for all the Muslim countries of the world which had at present various models of political structures. Saudi Arabia was a monarchy, Turkey a secular state, Iran a religious state and Taliban wanted orthodox Islamic system while Pakistan’s model could be the best of all the systems in the Islamic world.

He asked the people, particularly the new generation, to try to make their country as visualised by its founders.

He said both Allama Iqbal and the Quaid-i-Azam had similar views about the future structure and vision of Pakistan as they wanted it be a modern Islamic democratic welfare state. He said that Islam was not against democracy as its spirit was democratic. Unfortunately, with the exception of the 30 years of the rule of the four pious caliphs, the entire period from 661AD to 1924AD till the fall of Ottoman Empire Islamic world was ruled by monarchical dynasties.

Muslim scholars and historians of the period presented Islam a monarchy and not a democracy. Iqbal wanted an elected parliament to act in place of a ‘khalifa’ or ‘imam’ and it could consult the Muslim jurists and ulema to bring Islamic laws. He said that ulema did not agree to this concept of Islam presented by Iqbal.

Foundation chairman Majid Nizami said President Pervez Musharraf had said in his Pakistan Day parade speech that Pakistan should be a state as visualised by Iqbal and the Quaid-i-Azam. He said both of them wanted Pakistan an Islamic, modern, democratic welfare state. If the president was sincere to make Pakistan as its founders desired, he should remove his military uniform and hand over power to the representatives of people elected in free and fair elections, he said.

Other speakers included Azizul Haq Qureshi, Prof Inamul Haq Kausar, Prof Begum Khalida Muniruddin Chughtai and Shahid Rashid.