Independence Day:
Dear Sir:
While 14 August is just around the corner, kindly allow me to share a thought with your readers. Should we celebrate 14 August as our Independence Day or the Birthday of Pakistan? Pakistan did not exist before August 14, 1947. As such it was never a country ruled by the British and consequently liberated or granted independence. It was born a free country from its very inception. It was India that was ruled by the British and given independence by them, not Pakistan. Pakistan was never under the rule of any foreign power. It was created – took its birth – at 2359 hrs on 14 August 1947 one minute before India was liberated at 2400 hrs the same night but as the date changes after midnight, therefore, Bharat became independent on 15th August. We should, therefore, celebrate Pakistan’s Birth Day and not its Independence Day.
Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
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