The green that never fades: a tribute to Pakistan’s Independence Day

Some countries are drawn on maps long before anyone consider them. Pakistan was different – it was a dream in the hearts of a people who feared being forgotten, it was spoken into existence through decades of struggle, before it became a line on a map. It was written in pamphlets, argued in resolutions and finally it was carved out of history through sheer conviction, faith and sacrifice.

On every 14th August, that old aspiration wakes again.

Flags are hoisted over Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Skardu, Multan, and a nation of more than 240 million people – Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun, Baloch, Kashmiri, Gilgiti, Hazarewal, Saraiki and Muhajir comes together to remember something extraordinary: that this country was never promised, it was created against all the odds, and it still stands, unbroken, unbowed and unyielding to be forgotten.

This dream of Pakistan did not come out of thin air. It was molded in a long process of intellectual awakening and political struggle. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan stressed upon education and political awareness of Muslims of the subcontinent. Allama Muhammad Iqbal translated the aspirations of the Muslims into political discourse in his historic Allahabad Address of 1930 and Muhammad Ali Jinnah translated them into a disciplined constitutional movement. In 1940, the Lahore Resolution provided a clear political direction to the Pakistan Movement and in the course of seven years, the seemingly unfeasible idea turned into a sovereign reality.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah was at the heart of this battle. He did not merely lead a political movement but he organised, disciplined and provided it with constitutional legitimacy. He had a famous principle ‘Unity, Faith and Discipline’ which was not simply a slogan of a newly born State. It was a reminder that winning independence was only the first step. The greater challenge was to transform freedom into a stable, prosperous and dignified national life.

Independence did not arrive gently — it arrived soaked in the blood of Partition. Weeks later fourteen million people had crossed borders, and hundreds of thousands did not make it to the other side; trains were loaded with dead bodies from India to Lahore and Karachi, families were split overnight and never reunited. The state of Pakistan inherited nearly nothing in the way of functioning state: no real capital, little Pecuniary resource, hardly any industry, but it did not collapse ,because it could not afford to. It was a country that started off in crisis and the first thing it accomplished was to survive it.

That survival was the first chapter of the resilience of Pakistan. The new nation was forced to accommodate millions of refugees, develop institutions, create an economy and defend the new country with few resources. Pakistan has faced wars, political turmoil, terror, economic crisis and natural disasters since then. This was a nation whose first inheritance was crisis and whose first achievement was simply surviving it.

Following earthquakes and floods, communities rebuilt their homes. Schools and markets were reopened after terrorism. Teachers continued to teach, farmers continued to work on their farms, doctors worked emergency cases and young people continued their education without knowing what it meant.

For this reason, Independence Day should not only be a celebration of past. It should also be a time to discuss what independence means today.

Colonialism was eliminated and a sovereign nation was established when independence was achieved in 1947. After 79 years, its meaning should go further , now in 2026. Independence should mean that the citizens can live with dignity, get good education, have an honest chance to see a better future for tomorrow than today.

Jinnah’s speech at the meeting of the constituent assembly, on 11 August 1947, is relevant:

“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan.”

The words remind us that Pakistan was not just a piece of land, but a state where citizenship, justice and responsibility would be important.

The same message is conveyed by the national flag. It is green and white in colour, symbolising the Muslim majority and religious minorities. It is a reminder that Pakistan is for all . Numerous communities like Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun, Baloch, Kashmiri, Saraiki, Gilgiti, Balti, Muhajir , and non muslim communities have played their roles in yore . Our diversity should not dilute our national identity, it should enrich it.

On 14 August every street is decorated, flags are hoisted and national songs play. Kids wave mini flags, families get together and buildings light up green and white. This is why these festivities are important – countries require symbols and memories to help generations link to the past.

Pakistan was born in 1947. Those who have followed gave it life. Now it is our duty to enable it to have strength, dignity, knowledge and prosperity.

Therefore, on this Independence Day, let we celebrate not only the Pakistan that we were given, but the Pakistan we can create.

For patriotism is not just the emotion that comes when the national anthem starts.

It’s the duty we have at the end of the anthem.

The green may fly above us, but its meaning must live within us….PakistanZindabad.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026