He, in a message on Pakistan Day, said, "We have to make collective endeavours to build Pakistan into a state where all citizens have equal rights and all regions of the country enjoy the fruits of development."

The prime minister said as a nation it was incumbent upon us to build a society where nobody was discriminated against on the basis of colour, ethnicity, religion, creed or sect.

He said, "Today the nation have to renew its pledge and once again we have to make Pakistan a modern and developed state in conformity with the vision and thinking of the Quaid."

He said there had been an appreciable acceleration in this process during the last three years.      "With the Grace of God this journey will continue with the same spirit and commitment," he said.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the creation of Pakistan ushered in the possibilities of durable peace in South Asia, it was also a ray of hope for those who had been deprived of equal opportunities in the United India and attempts had been made to decimate their cultural identity.

He said the nation clinched back its identity in the form of Pakistan, which was denied to them by the majority. It was implied in the Pakistan Resolution that Pakistan after coming into being would transform into a national state where all the citizen would enjoy equal rights.

"We are grateful to Allah that today the people of Pakistan have regained their lost identity. During the last three years the Army, security agencies and people have rendered sacrifices to make Pakistan a cradle of peace. The government has maintained its focus on accelerating economic prosperity and progress," the prime minister said.

He said today Pakistan was a democratic country, the judiciary and media were independent and the backward areas of the country were being developed on priority.

He said work on the epoch-making projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor was in full swing, which had unleashed a process of progress and reconstruction in Balochistan and added, "The day was not far off when, God willing, the province would join the developed areas of the country."

The prime minister said it was a pleasant coincidence that the Muslim Ummah found its destination from the platform of Muslim League "And today under the leadership of the same party we have rediscovered it."

He said March 23 was an unforgettable day of national history. The Muslim Ummah of South Asia was vying to find its identity since long but it had no determined destination before it.

"On this day we found that our focus and impregnable unity which not only identified the destination but also helped us to achieve it in the shape of Pakistan."

He said though in the Allahabad address by Allama Muhammad Iqbal the contours of that destination had been earmarked but it found its expression and consensus on March 23.

"This day reminds us that with steely determination and unity under an honest leadership, the ostensibly unachievable targets can be easily achieved. Pakistan Paindabad," the prime minister concluded.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2017