LAHORE (APP): Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that today the entire nation is celebrating Independence Day at a time when it is grieved due to Quetta tragedy.
He said this while addressing a special function held at Hazoori Bagh in connection with Independence Day on Sunday.
He said that prayers and sympathies of whole nation were with the bereaved families of martyrs.
He said that million of people laid down their precious lives for creation of Pakistan and souls of martyrs were still waiting for the country to become Pakistan of Quaid and Iqbal in the real sense.
He said that on March 23, 1940, million of Muslims including Ulema from various schools of thought, labourers, intellectuals, lawyers and other people had gathered on one platform under the dynamic leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for achieving independence from Hindu and imperialism.
The Muslims displayed unity and solidarity and achieved a separate land.
He said that today, unity has shattered and everyone wanted to impose his belief upon others which was against the spirit of Pakistan of Quaid and Iqbal.
"The nation also needs a leader today who can eliminate corruption, ignorance, poverty, disparity between the rich and the poor and plunder of national resources from the country and make such Pakistan where there is no difference between the elite and the common man and this is the real objective of creating Pakistan," he added.
He said that there was no room for disappointment and it would have to be eliminated through unity.
He said that Pakistan Muslim League-N government under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was determined to make such a Pakistan as was dreamed by Quaid and Iqbal.
He said that Pakistan was created to uphold honesty, hard work and eliminate corruption, rigging and nepotism.
The Chief Minister said that the country and the nation suffered a great loss due to four martial laws in the country.
He said that political governments also did not discharge their responsibilities efficiently.
Shehbaz Sharif said that this was not time of leveling allegations or abusing each other but accountability.
He said that we should have to move forward after learning a lesson from past mistakes and only then, Pakistan would achieve its lost status in the comity of nations.
Shehbaz Sharif said that those raising the slogan of accountability have such people around them who got written off their loans of billion and trillions of rupees and have stories of grabbing lands in this city.
Now when work has been started for the improvement of every sector under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, these people wanted to stage sit-ins, he added.
"Was Pakistan achieved for such purposes," he questioned.
Shehbaz Sharif said that although we have wasted a lot of precious time yet there was time to do work. He said that several achievements have been made at a number of fronts. He said that due to unity of political and military forces, the country has become an atomic power and no one could dare to harm it.
Referring to Indian atrocities in Occupied Kashmir, the Chief Minister said that innocent Muslims were being killed in Kashmir.
Shehbaz Sharif said that the youth were bright future of Pakistan and he was sure that the youth will transform Pakistan in accordance with the ideals of Quaid and Iqbal in the real sense.
The Chief Minister said that political and military leadership had jointly started Operation Zarb-e-Azab in which numerous achievements had been made.
Shehbaz Sharif said that 1320 megawatts coal power plant was being speedily completed in Sahiwal and this was the first project of such capacity, which was going to be completed in a record period of 23 months.
Khawaja Ahmad Hasaan and Administrator Lahore Capt.(R) Usman Yunis also spoke on the occasion. Counsel Generals of China and Iran, Provincial Ministers, Members National and Provincial Assemblies, senior civil and military officers and people from different walks of life were present on the occasion.