Campaigning in Lahore A Public Speech, November 3, 1970

I shall say that Islam is not in danger in Pakistan because God Almighty has Himself proclaimed that He is the Defender of Islam. The religion which has been completely revealed and about which God Almighty has said that no more prophets will be sent can never be in danger. If any danger was at all possible, more prophets would have appeared. “Khatam-e-Nabuwat” stands for the fact that no more prophets will come because the religion of Islam is complete and there is no likelihood of any danger threatening it at all.

We are trying to serve the cause of the Muslims. We are trying to bring to an end the exploitation in the country. The capitalists have joined hands against us and they are propagating that Islam is in danger. Islam is not in danger but the capitalists are in danger.

They can never defeat the people. The people of Pakistan are conscious of their rights. These so called “Islam Pasands” should follow the fundamental principles of Islam. On the one hand they call themselves “Islam Pasands” and on the other they object on my contesting from Punjab. Am I not a Muslim or a Pakistan? Islam does not teach us to discriminate among Muslims, especially when we all belong to one nation. Bhutto was not the Foreign Minister of Sindh. He was the Foreign Minister of Pakistan.

We are determined to serve the cause of Pakistan and Islam. We believe in one Pakistan. Others can go and contest from Sindh or Sarhad. We shall be happy about it. The whole of Pakistan belongs to Pakistanis. They are talking in terms of our enemies. I want to tell you that I am contesting from Punjab, Sindh and Sarhad only to prove to our enemies, the imperialists and the capitalists, that we are all one nation, and that we believe in the integrity of Pakistan. Our enemies want that Pakistan should be divided between the Punjabis and the Bengalis and then the Sindhis and Pathans and the Baluchis should fall out among themselves. They want to weaken the integrity and unity of Pakistan. I am contesting from all the areas to give a befitting reply to the enemies of Pakistan. I want to prove to them that the integrity of Pakistan is intact, and we can win from Punjab and Sindh and Sarhad because we are Pakistanis first and Punjabis, Sindhis and Paihans later. It is a pity that the people who call themselves “Islam Pasands” talk in terms of territorial prejudices.

I have never made a promise which I did not fulfill. I had promised to give the country an independent foreign policy and I fulfilled this promise against heavy odds. Later, I promised that if India attacks Pakistan we shall fight against her resolutely. You saw the way we fought against India. But for Ayub Khan’s weakness we would have defeated the Indians in Kashmir. My third promise was that we shall struggle against the dictatorship of Ayub Khan. We fulfilled that promise also. My fourth promise is a very important promise, and it is about breaking the shackles of exploitation. We shall establish our people’s rule in Pakistan and exploitation will end. If the Government is handed over to the people who know how to run it, the cause of the common man will be served. You should not vote for the novices who are contesting from this constituency. They shall not be able to run the Government. You should cast your votes for the person who has the necessary experience, You should exercise your judgment on the services rendered by him to Pakistan.