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Zardari for meeting intellectual challenges to confront militancy

* Gilani, Fehmida say Iqbal's teachings can help overcome any obstacle

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza on Sunday stressed the need for applying the remedies proposed by Allama Muhammad Iqbal to overcome the problem and challenges Pakistan faced.

In his message on the eve of the 132nd birth anniversary of Allama Iqbal, the president said the nation owed independence to the vision of the Poet of the East, and the best way to pay tributes to him was to understand his message and imbibe his teachings. He said there was a great need for understanding Iqbal's concept of the message of Islam and the need for making a forward movement in philosophical thought.

The president said it was unfortunate that in a country envisioned by Iqbal, extremists and militants had ruthlessly exploited Islam to foist their narrow agendas on the people in the name of religion. “The extremists and militants have rejected the constitution, the federation and democratic institutions only to capture power in the name of religion. This cannot be allowed; it will not be allowed,” he said. "Iqbal believed that nothing remains static and stationary. He believed in and advocated forward movement in human thought.”

Zardari said the forward movement in human thought and interpretation was most relevant in the present scenario, as extremists and militants had selectively quoted scriptures and verses of the holy Quran to advance their own political agenda.

“One of the most important intellectual challenges we face is to move forward according to the changing requirements of time, retaining the fundamentals of Islam,” he said.

Teachings: Prime Minister Gilani in his message stressed the need to follow the teachings of Allama Iqbal to steer the country out of various challenges it faced.

"The teachings of Iqbal are no doubt the beacon of light for our country, especially in the current circumstances,” he said, adding that Iqbal included the elements of thought and strategy in national affairs. “He highlighted the sense of unity in Muslims and raised his voice for economic justice,” Gilani said.

He said the government had been striving for national security, development and welfare of masses in circumstances that required national unity, reconciliation, consensus and futuristic vision and approach. Fehmida Mirza said that Muslims, especially Pakistanis, had been facing tremendous problems and challenges, which could be overcome through the remedies proposed by Allama Iqbal.

She said much of today's problems would vanish “if we follow the teachings of Iqbal and strictly follow the Islamic ways of life”. She said Iqbal's vision of an Islamic society was universal, which transcended territorial boundaries and barriers of nationhood. app

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