A COUNTRY AS BEAUTIFUL AS ITS NAME

Rainbow, as it appeared; the little-colored flags dangling from one rooftop to the other. And among all those colors, the magnificent green flags with the crescent and the star stood out.

This all started decades ago. Almost seven decades ago. Nothing was normal. Crises had taken over and one thing led to the other. Among those streets, lived a proficient poet, a remarkable philosopher. He had this crazy idea, an idea which seemed like a day-dream, a myth. And among those streets lived another man, a legend with a power to bring the myth to life. Long story short, they did it. That idea gave birth to a very beautiful place; a place as beautiful as its name. And this is how, my friends, Pakistan came into being.

You take a piece of land from someone; you don’t exactly make it to their good books. India wasn’t the only one who lost something that day. That land was once ours until the circumstances forced us. And I might have made it sound easy, but it took more than just a great poet and a remarkable leader. We paid with the blood of our loved ones, to get this country. Those stories are heart-wrenching.

Every year, this day is a reminder of what we have been through, why we have suffered, and how much we are blessed. I remember it used to rain, every 14^th of August and they used to say it’s because of the sacrifices we have made. I remember how it made the decorated flags fall to the ground. Till one year, it stopped. It didn’t rain. Had the sacrifices lost their worth? I wondered. And I reflected that we had made them seem worthless.

Why did we need Pakistan? I tell you what, not for this. We wanted a free country because we wanted to practise. We wanted to live as Muslims. Look at us, what we have become, what we have done to ourselves and the precious land. What we have done to the blood that made this soil fertile for us. Oh Lord! What have we done?

Those mothers that sacrificed their sons, that youth that chose to die so that we can live in peace. How can we do this to them? How can you say that it’s worthless? That this country is hopeless. How? How can you say Pakistan hasn’t given you anything? How can you be so thankless?

When they paid with their lives and blood, they didn’t pay it so we can be liberals and fight each other and run after western culture and forget why we needed the country in first place. It wasn’t for us to divide and fight, we were supposed to be united, and we were supposed to pay back. When they died before they could even smell freedom, they hoped that we will make it count. But what did we do? We scattered and hated. We forgot and criticized.

Pakistan didn’t fail us. We failed Pakistan. We failed our ancestors.

So will you just put a green flag on and think you’ve done your service. Or will you stand up and actually do something that counts. Will you make their sacrifices worth something? Will you show the world why we created it?

Pakistan awaits you, to stop ruining it and start making it better. It’s your home. Make it your pride.