Islamia College Peshawar (ICP) is the only alma-mater of Khyber Pakthunkhwa which has the honour of being visited by Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah thrice to acknowledge historic role of its students during the Pakistan Movement.
The Quaid first visited the ICP in 1936, then in 1945 and lastly as the first Governor General of Pakistan in 1948 where he highly praised the patriotism, commitment and devotion of its students in completion of his difficult mission for Pakistan. The historic college was established by Muslim League leader Sir Abdul Qayyum Khan in 1913 and today it has attained the status of a public sector university. “The great Quaid received a rousing welcome from the people of Peshawar, including students, in 1945. The ICP students and the Muslim Students Federation (MSF) presented the fund of Rs 8,000 for the Pakistan Movement and after that the struggle for a separate homeland for the Muslims of subcontinent moved towards its logical end,” Muhammad Younas Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Studies Department, ICP, told APP.
It was a historic occasion when the MSF committed to present 8,000 educated workers during the Quaid’s next visit to the great alma-mater, he said. The KP people, he recalled, had wholeheartedly heeded to the great leader’s call for separate homeland as evident from hoisting of their homes, bazaars, markets, villages, towns and vehicles with the Muslim League flags, besides placards inscribed with slogans of Pakistan Zindabad and Quaid-i-Azam Zindabad. “The spirit and enthusiasm of KP people of KP was historic. Peshawar was beautifully decorated with the Muslim League flags hoisted atop of all major buildings and vehicles wearing a festive look,” he added.
All bazzars including Qisa Khwani, Hasthnagri, Cantonment, Firdus and Khyber were gave a festive look with Muslim League flags and portraits of the Quaid-e-Azam. “I can recall ‘a sea’ of people with national flags and portraits of Quaid-i-Azam arrived from all districts of KP and erstwhile FATA to see a glimpse of their beloved leader when he came here in 1945 and later as first Governor General of Pakistan on April 12, 1948,” said Misal Khan, a retired Information Officer. Besides senior citizens, the students, youth, labourers, farmers and people of all walks of life thronged Peshawar to welcome the great leader, who changed the world map by creating Pakistan on August 14, 1947 through democratic struggle.
Misal Khan said the KP people showed immense love for Quaid-i-Azam and that was why the All India Muslim League (AIML) secured the maximum number of seats in the province in the 1946 elections, which was a turning point in the independence movement for Pakistan. The Quaid, during his last visit to the ICP as the first Governor General of Pakistan on April 12, 1948, paid tributes to the services of its students for making Pakistan in these words: “I am indeed very happy to be present here today and to have the privilege of addressing students of this great Darul Uloom, who are the future builders of Pakistan.” He advised the students to develop a sense of discipline, character, and solid academic background and devote themselves towards their studies.
“Remember your government is like your own garden. Your garden flourishes by the way you look after it and the efforts that you put towards its improvement. Similarly, your government can only flourish by your patriotic, honest and constructive efforts to improve it,” the Quaid told the students. The Quaid-e-Azam expressed his desire for setting up a university in Peshawar so that the KP students could get higher education. In line with his vision, the government established the University of Peshawar near the ICP in 1949. The Quaid’s love for the ICP could be judged from his historic will written on May 30, 1939, in Mumbai in which he declared the Islamia College, Muslim University Aligarh and Sindh Madrassatul Islam Karachi, as among the inheritors of his property.
Later, the Quaid Trust paid Rs 10.81 million in different installments to the ICP. The amount was spent on the establishment of Quaid-i-Azam College of Commerce, University of Peshawar, the construction of Jinnah Residential Quarters for the college employees, and Jinnah College for Women and the newly-constructed Takbeer block at the ICP. The Quaid-i-Azam had an immense love for tribesmen of merged tribal districts (erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas) for their strong loyalty, supreme sacrifices and consistent support during the Pakistan Movement.
Despite hectic official engagements as the Governor General, he addressed a Grand Tribal Jirga at Governor House, Peshawar on April 17, 1948. During his address to the Jirga, the Quaid highly praised the strong commitment, patriotism and support of the tribesmen in the completion of his mission for Pakistan. “The Quaid-i-Azam’s speeches to the students of ICP and tribal elders were historic. We can achieve every goal in life by strictly adhering to those,” said former ambassador Manzoorul Haq.
The Quaid knew that the students were future builders of Pakistan and that was why he made repeated visits to the ICP despite his hectic engagements and poor health condition, he added. He said the Quaid had always laid great emphasis on education, character building and constructive criticism on the government for the sake of improvement and reformation rather than making point-scoring for political and personal gains. Ambassador Manzoor said that by strictly following the Quaid’s principles of unity, faith and discipline, one could achieve succeed in every filed of life.
He said it was high time to revitalize the legacy of the Father of the Nation by imparting education and supporting the government to adopt a culture of constructive criticism for the sake of improvement to make the country move forward towards prosperity. The students of different schools on Monday visited the ICP to pay tributes to the charismatic leader on his 147th birthday anniversary. “I came from Educators Pabbi campus to see the rare portraits of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Khyber Union hall of the ICP where the great Quaid had addressed the students,” Malaika Bibi, a 5th grade student, said. She said that the ICP’s students historic role during the Pakistan Movement and the Quaid’s love for the great alma-mater had impressed her the most.
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