Shaheed-e-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan remembered at SSUET seminar

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Glowing tributes were paid to Shaheed-e-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan with speakers encompassing his life and achievements at a seminar organised by the Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology (SSUET), Karachi, to observe the Liaquat Day on October 2.

Addressing the seminar, the SSUET Chancellor, Engr Mohammad Adil Usman, remarked that Nawab Liaquat Ali Khan truly inspired the Muslims of the sub-continent with his strong character, firm conviction and unwavering determination and above all motivating them for national causes. 

He recalled a speech of Shaheed-e-Millat of November 17, 1947 in Karachi in which he had stated that the portfolio of Prime Minister will have no value to him, if he ever knew that he could deliver better results as a peon and he will never hesitate to do it. 

Nawab Liaquat Ali Khan, he observed, presented the true face of Islam before the West, convincing them that that it is a religion of peace and brotherhood promoting human values. He quoted him saying that Islam doesn’t mean offering prayers only but a complete philosophy of life, providing guidance which is reflective through every action of a Muslim. 

Chancellor Adil Usman told the gathering that when first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, was assassinated his total bank assets stood at Rs 1,250. He had left behind huge valuable property in India but never claimed compensation in Pakistan. 

He informed that Liaquat Ali Khan was a graduate of the Aligarh Muslim University and he rose to prominence within Muslim League during the 1930s. He had the credit of persuading Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah to return to India from Britain which marked the beginning of the Muslim League's ascendancy and paved the way for Pakistan movement. He went wholeheartedly with the Quaid-e-Azam in campaigning for the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of sub-continent. 

Speaking on the occasion, General Secretary, Quaid-e-Millat Memorial Society, Mahfooz-un-Nabi Khan, revealed that when Liaquat Ali Khan took over as Prime Minister he had no official residence, and stayed at the Haroon’s house. 

Noted scholar Prof Dr Waqar Ahmed Rizvi described Liaquat Ali Khan as a role model for our youth as a true successor of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Other speakers on the occasion included Dr Mohammad Raza Kazmi, Col (Rtd) Akbar Yazdani and Nazir Ahmed Channa.