Maulana Sahib! It Is Not Right to Pit the People and the State Against Each Other: Abid Sher Ali

ISLAMABAD (Daily Qudrat): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) central leader Abid Sher Ali has said: Maulana Sahib! It is not right to pit the people and the state against each other. The state is not a separate creature; do not turn difference of opinion into hatred of the state. Criticise governments, but how is it wisdom to completely reject the importance and sacrifices of national institutions?

In his post on X, he said: Maulana Sahib! Interpreting the state as fighting and division is tantamount to ignoring history, the Constitution and national realities.

You say: what has the state given us except fighting and division? So the answer is that the state has given us a free homeland, a Constitution, identity, civil rights, a judicial system, education, health, employment opportunities and the democratic right to elect our representatives.

There are certainly problems in all these sectors, but the existence of problems does not eliminate the importance of the state.

You say that representation in the Senate and National Assembly has been given not by the state but by the people.

Absolutely correct! It is the people who elect representatives, but the constitutional and democratic system under which this election takes place is provided by the state. The people give the mandate, the Constitution gives that mandate legal status, and the state becomes the guarantor of the continuity of this democratic system.

Maulana Sahib! It is not right to pit the people and the state against each other. The state is not a separate creature; it is the name of the sum of the people, the Constitution, institutions and national sovereignty.

Criticise governments, raise questions on policies and point out shortcomings — this is your democratic right. But how is it wisdom to completely reject the existence of the state, its sacrifices and the importance of national institutions?

If the state is a mother, then along with her rights, also raise questions about her responsibilities, but do not turn difference of opinion into hatred of the state and state responsibilities into denial of the state.

We want a strong, constitutional, democratic and people-friendly Pakistan; a Pakistan where the people’s rights are protected, parliament is empowered and the state is strong. Because if the state is weak, the greatest loss will be to the ordinary citizen, not to any politician.

Remember: the supremacy of the people and the strength of the state are not contrary to each other; rather, they are the two basic pillars of a stable democracy.