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Birthday or Independence Day?
While 14 August is just around the corner, kindly allow me to share a thought with your readers once again as I have been doing for the past many years. Should we celebrate 14 August as our Independence Day or the Birthday of Pakistan? Pakistan did not exist as a country before August 14, 1947 and as such was never ruled by the British or any other foreign power. It was, therefore, not liberated or granted independence by anyone. It was created as an independent and free country right from its very inception. It was India that was ruled by the British and given independence by them. Pakistan took its birth at 2359 hrs on the night 14/15 August 1947 one minute before India was given independence at 2400 hrs the same night. As the date changes after midnight, therefore, Bharat became independent on 15th August whereas Pakistan came into being on the night of 14th August 1947. Had India been liberated before Pakistan was created, it would have been up to the Indian Constituent Assembly to agree or not to carve out Pakistan out of mother India. Pakistan was, therefore, created a minute before India was liberated. As Pakistan was born free we should celebrate its Birth Day and not its Independence Day.
Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
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