Did Jinnah want Pakistan to be a secular democracy?2. At this difficult time, it becomes even more important that we have access to information that has a bearing on our health and well-being, our lives, and livelihoods. Yesterday Pakistan’s fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar tweeted, Pakistan as a secular country. To enable wide dissemination of news that is in public interest, we have increased the number of articles that can be read free, and extended free trial periods. If indeed Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be an Islamic state what exactly did he think an Islamic state means?4. In some ways Pakistan has westernized faster than India and the standard of living is mush higher there. Could Jinnah have stated his intentions with any more clarity!The best way to judge what was the Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan and whether he intended Pakistan to be a secular state or an Islamic state is to objectively study his speeches, interviews, and policy statements that he made on various occasions – during the struggle for Pakistan and after achieving Pakistan. And in the 1946 elections religion was used freely to get Muslim support by both The League and The Congress, it is worth noting that while we criticize Jinnah for allowing his party workers to use religion we should keep in mind that the secular Nehru was allowing his party members to do the same, at least we cannot accuse Jinnah to be a hypocrite like Nehru who proclaimed secular politics yet allowed the use of religion when it suited him.Renowned historian Ayesha Jalal cautions in judging Jinnah just on the basis of his words. Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous, we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. As a subscriber, you are not only a beneficiary of our work but also its enabler.We also reiterate here the promise that our team of reporters, copy editors, fact-checkers, designers, and photographers will deliver quality journalism that stays away from vested interest and political propaganda. All parties are able to provide valid evidence to support their stance on the argument and the matter has never been fully settled. I don’t think so, at least not when we try to see things from his eyes.1. ”But make no mistake : Pakistan is NOT a theocracy or anything like it.” [ Jinnah, Message to the people of Australia, 19 February 1948 ] Another Middle East country that is a former secular country is Iraq, which became a secular … Unofficially there’s not much Islamic about Pakistan. Shoaib said, “Hindu politician Darshan Lal is now the cabinet minister in Pakistan. Or too much religion and becomes a secular country.