The idea behind a separate homeland came about in Lahore 70 years ago, when people were passionate and willing to lay down their lives in the fight for independence. But now that we, as a nation, are at a crossroads and are not optimistic about the future, Azme Alishan (AeA) wants every Pakistani to challenge the negative press Pakistan has received.

AeA is an initiative and a social movement by like-minded individuals who hope to challenge every citizen to talk about the real Pakistani culture and identity, rather than being generalised as terrorists by the international media. The team at AeA plans to do this through a series of public events and activities throughout the year. AeA asks every Pakistani to take an azm (pledge) on behalf of the country and do something - as little as it may be - and show the world what Pakistanis are capable of today.

Dawn.com talks to Khizra Munir who is a part of AeA and her thoughts on how effective this movement will be.

What is Amze Alishan and how will it impact or bring about a change in our society?

To an extent, Azme Alishan is whatever people want it to be, because it’s supposed to be driven by the people. It’s not a top-down initiative driven by big business or government. Instead, it’s a social movement that brings ordinary people together and gets them involved in something that aims to celebrate all the best things about our country.

We get a bad press as a nation. There’s a tendency – sometimes understandably – to focus on all the things that are wrong, but at the same time there’s so much that’s good about Pakistan and we’re seeing that right now with the response to the floods in the country. Pakistanis from all backgrounds are getting together, setting aside whatever differences they might have to help their fellow citizens in their hour of need. That’s the true Pakistan. It’s a world away from the images of terrorism and despondency that too many people think of these days.

That’s what Azme Alishan aims to achieve; to celebrate the real Pakistan, challenge every patriotic Pakistani to speak up for it at every opportunity, and through this to begin to change perceptions of the country. If we can begin to make the good outweigh the bad, that will be a change indeed.

What is the next step for the movement? If it is a long-term goal, what do you hope to achieve by the end of it?

If people like Azme Alishan – and early indications are that they do – there’s no reason why it can’t live beyond this year, so at the moment we’re taking stock and thinking about what to do next. The possibilities are literally endless, so as long as people want us to keep going, we’ll do so. Hopefully that means people will also give us their ideas and we can perhaps help to make some of them happen.

The key thing is that it’s not just about what we do. It’s about what people do. If they take the initiative and decide to clean their neighborhoods, plant some trees, help an elderly neighbor or whatever, that’s an example of Azme Alishan in action. It’s about resolving to do something for ourselves and standing up for the true values of Pakistan. Azme Alishan isn’t just for this year or next. In reality, we hope it will become a way of life.

You say, 'fight for the soul of the nation' - is it possible at this stage?

We just think our nation’s at something of a crossroads. If all the good people of Pakistan give up, decide everything’s terrible and nothing will ever change, then the wrong people win. Those who want to define Pakistan as a violent, lawless and frankly miserable place will gain, but decent Pakistanis will lose.

So we are in a fight that will define what kind of a nation Pakistan becomes in the future. Just signing up as a supporter of Azme Alishan says that you’ve made your choice, and that the nation first envisaged by our founding fathers back in 1940 is the country you want it to be..

But it’s not really good enough anymore just to be quietly proud to be Pakistani; to sit on the sidelines and not get involved. If that’s the nation you want, you have to get involved and speak up for it.

Take the Manzare Pakistan initiative, for example. It’s a website where people can post videos, pictures, stories, poems etc., explaining what Pakistan means to them. Now if a lot of people get involved and give us their ideas, that will become an antidote to all those who think the country’s falling apart. Azme Alishan is all about simple, little things like that which, taken together, amount to something bigger: a positive assertion of the kind of country we want Pakistan to be.

How can the the masses be a part of this movement?

Firstly they can get involved in one of our initiatives by posting a video, picture or story on the Manzare Pakistan website for example, or contributing to our discussion forums at azmealishan.com. They can also get involved as volunteers ‘on the ground’ by helping out with our Ramadan activity and other such activities.

Second, they can give us their ideas. What would they like to see Azme Alishan supporting in future? Azme Alishan is about the people, so if they have good ideas for things we might do then we’d really like to hear them since this is a collaborative effort.

Third, they can simply tell others about the campaign. By spreading the word, writing to their local paper, or signing up on our Facebook group, we will be able to build a real movement that says “this is what Pakistan really is and this is what we’re going to stand up for.” The more supporters we have, the greater our ability to change perceptions about the nation.

And finally, Azme Alishan asks every patriotic Pakistani to make an azm on behalf of the country. It’s a simple thing that everyone can do: just taking a moment to think about what we individually can resolve to do that will make daily life better in Pakistan. It can be a personal thing, or people can become a Nishane Azm by going to the website and claiming a pixel on our special Minar-e-Pakistan puzzle.

I think this is what makes Azme Alishan unique. We’re not asking for money or anything particularly difficult. We just want people to give us their hearts and minds and to get other people involved so that together we can stand up for the ideals and values of the true Pakistan that we all know and love.

*For more information on AeA, check out their website. Amna Khalique is the Features Editor at Dawn.com