O, Pakistan!

In talking to a friend, a lady from Pakistan, she expressed an interest in my knowledge of the history of Pakistan - at least its early history - and we talked of the days of Mr. Jinnah and Mr. Gandhi. I told her I would dig this poem out and refurbish it. It was written just after the assassination of Mrs. Bhutto.

note: "  Ijtimaa'  " we use to mean community, specifically community between all peoples.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah's Tomb and Memorial

 

Oh, Pakistan! Whether the past
be glorious or dismal,
let it not diminish thee!
The long road of the future beckons.
Not hatred, but forbearance.
Not strife but ijtimaa '
Attain the perfection
of your lives which
Islam demands of thee!