As Pakistan celebrates Independence Day, Mustafa Qadri looks at the country’s unstable beginnings, troubled history and the miracle of its continued existence
“The religious bigot considers me an infidel
And the infidel deems me to be a Muslim!”
With these immortal words, Pakistan’s national poet Mohammad Iqbal captured the eternal quandary that is Pakistan.
The nation created for the subcontinent’s Muslims has always struggle to define itself — is it meant to be an Islamic state or a state for Indian Muslims?