Address to Ulemas at Murree on June 20, 1972

“The whole nation blesses your mission of peace to India and stands behind you”, a large gathering of eminent ulemas from all schools of thought told president Bhutto in Murree.

You represent our aspirations and pride, our ambitions and our hopes, they told the president. We have placed our destiny in your hands and accepted your leadership because you will not let us down, nor bargain on national honor, they declared.

President Bhutto, visibly moved, said I am only a servant of the people. I go to India with your permission and with your prayers. It is not for me to make decisions because I am only an individual. It is the people who will decide. It is the national will which shall prevail.

The president said, my heart is filled with the love of Islam and I prayed to God to give me the strength to come though these negotiations with Pakistan’s flag streaming high. I will never accept the slightest abridgement of principles.

He said that he had been thrown-up by the people and their voice was his voice, their collective will, his will. There will be no horse-trading with India, he said.

One religious leader after another stood up and blessed the President and congratulated him for having performed Umra. “It was God’s will” the president replied, his voice tinged with emotion. Then the added, as I stood in the House of God, a soul in ecstasy I prayed for Pakistan, for the blessings of Allah and His guidance, for strength and light, for the benevolence of God and His protection. I prayed from the depth of my soul and with every fiber of my being.