Eid-ul-Azha message to the nation on January 16, 1973

This third Eid after the tragic events of 1971 serves as a reminder to us that only through supreme sacrifice which Eid-ul-Azha symbolizes can the sacred cause of Islam be vindicated. The dismemberment of Pakistan, the anguish suffered by our nation and the incarceration of our prisoners of war were doubtless due to a conspiracy against Pakistan. There can be little doubt, however, that so conspiracy against Pakistan would have succeeded if we had not strayed from the noble ideals which inspired the movement for Pakistan led by Quaid-I-Azam Mahomed Ali Jinnah. The ideal of supreme sacrifice for collective good which Eid-ul-Azha symbolizes was abandoned. Personal aggrandizement and greed were unhappily rampant in Pakistan during the first 25 years of its existence, and the high principles and ideals of our faith were forgotten.

Our thoughts today are with all those who are suffering for Pakistan Many thousands languish in jails. Our hearts bleed for the prisoners, both military and civilian, detained in India in inhuman conditions in flagrant violation of international law and morality. There can be so jay in any home in Pakistan until these people return to their homeland and are re-united with their kith and kin.

Our nation owes it to Islam and also to Pakistan to revive the spirit of sacrifice for the betterment of our troubled nation’s spirit and environment. This is the message of Eid-ul-Azha. Let not this day be just another feast or ritual. We must remember that Pakistan is today on the crossroads of crisis. If we choose the path of sacrifice and unity as enjoined by Islam, success surely awaits us. After what happened to our country n 1971, the perils of our failure are no longer hidden from us. Let us, therefore, pray to Allah for bringing happiness to our people in conformity with the spirit which brought this holy day on to the calendar of Islam.