The Founder of Pakistan
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, is commonly called as Quaid-e-Azam (the great leader). Against heavy odds, almost single handedly, Jinnah won a life of freedom and dignity for Muslims of the South Asian Subcontinent. The second largest Muslim country i.e. Pakistan came in to existence on 14 August 1947. He was lawyer by profession. He first joined all India Congress in Indian subcontinent to get rid of the British rule in India and then he fought for the cause of Muslims in the sub-continent and joined All India Muslim League. Due to his untiring efforts and hard work, Mr. Jinnah's health deteriorated and he died in Karachi on September 11, 1948, just after one year of creation of Pakistan. He is buried in Karachi Pakistan. The nation celebrates his birth anniversary on December 25 as he was born in Karachi on December 25, 1876.Father of the Nation Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah's achievement as the founder of Pakistan, dominates everything else he did in his long and crowded public life spanning some 42 years. Yet, by any standard, his was an eventful life, his personality multidimensional and his achievements in other fields were many, if not equally great. Indeed, several were the roles he had played with distinction: at one time or another, he was one of the greatest legal luminaries India had produced during the first half of the century, an `ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity, a great constitutionalist, a distinguished parliamentarian, a top-notch politician, an indefatigable freedom-fighter, a dynamic Muslim leader, a political strategist and, above all one of the great nation-builders of modern times. What, however, makes him so remarkable is the fact that while similar other leaders assumed the leadership of traditionally well-defined nations and espoused their cause, or led them to freedom, he created a nation out of an inchoate and down-trodden minority and established a cultural and national home for it. And all that within a decease. For over three decades before the successful culmination in 1947, of the Muslim struggle for freedom in the South-Asian subcontinent, Jinnah had provided political leadership to the Indian Muslims: initially as one of the leaders, but later, since 1947, as the only prominent leader- the Quaid-i-Azam. For over thirty years, he had guided their affairs; he had given expression, coherence and direction to their legitimate aspirations and cherished dreams; he had formulated these into concrete demands; and, above all, he had striven all the while to get them conceded by both the ruling British and the numerous Hindus the dominant segment of India's population. And for over thirty years he had fought, relentlessly and inexorably, for the inherent rights of the Muslims for an honorable existence in the subcontinent. Indeed, his life story constitutes, as it were, the story of the rebirth of the Muslims of the subcontinent and their spectacular rise to nationhood, phoenix like.
President, Islamic Republic of Pakistan
General Pervez Musharraf
Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)Tamgha-e-Basalat
General Pervez Musharraf joined the Pakistan Military Academy in 1961 and was commissioned in an elite Artillery Regiment in 1964. He saw action in the 1965 war as a young officer in the Khem Karan, Lahore and Sialkot sectors with a self propelled Artillery Regiment. He was awarded the Imtiaz-i-Sanad for gallantry. He later volunteered and served for seven years in the Special Service Group "Commandos". He also participated in the 1971 war as Company Commander in a Commando Battalion.
General Musharraf has had the privilege of commanding two self-propelled Artillery Regiments. As a Brigadier, he had the distinction of commanding an Infantry Brigade as well as Armored Division Artillery. On promotion to the rank of Major General on 15th January 1991, he was given the command of an Infantry Division and later of a prestigious strike Corps as Lieutenant General on 21st October 1995.
General Musharraf has served on various important staff and instructional appointments during his career. These include Deputy Military Secretary at the Military Secretary’s Branch, member of Directing Staff both at the Command and Staff College, Quetta and the National Defence College. He has also remained the Director General Military Operations at the General Headquarters.
A graduate of Command and Staff College, Quetta and the National Defence College, General Pervez Musharraf also distinguished himself at the Royal College of Defence Studies, in the United Kingdom. A comment from his performance report was, "a capable, articulate and extremely personable officer, who made a most valuable impact here. His country is fortunate to have the services of a man of his undeniable quality".
General Pervez Musharraf was promoted to the rank of General on 7th October 1998 and appointed Chief of Army Staff. He was given the additional charge of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee on 9th April 1999 which he relinquished in October 2001. He performed his duties as the Chief Executive of Pakistan from 12 th October 1999 to the time he became President. He is now the COAS and the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Prime Minister, Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz was born on March 6, 1949 and brought up in the southern city of Karachi. He received his early education from St. Patrick’s School at Karachi and Public School at Abbottabad, graduated from Gordon College, Rawalpindi in 1967 and achieved MBA in 1969 from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi in 1969. The same year, he started his career from Citibank as credit officer in Karachi and served in various countries including Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore. After being promoted to many positions, as Citibank's head of Corporate and Investment Banking for various regions, Corporate Planning Officer, Citicorp, country Manager for Citibank in Malaysia and in Jordan, a board member of Citibank subsidiaries and of several non-profit organizations, he was appointed Executive Vice President of Citibank in 1992. Before taking leave from Citigroup, he was the head of its global Private Banking division and progressed to a senior post with the bank in New York at the height of a 30-year career in global finance.He was appointed as Finance Minister by the Government of Pakistan in November 1999 shortly after the army chief's 1999 military coup with the task of revitalizing the sagging economy. As the finance minister, Shaukat’s familiarity with a global banking came as an advantage. He was given the responsibility for managing country’s Finance, Economic Affairs, Statistics, Planning and Development and Revenue Divisions. He is also Chairman of Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet; Chairman, Executive Committee of National Economic Council and Chairman, Cabinet Committee on Privatization. He became a Senator in 2002.
Shaukat Aziz was criticized for his policy of downsizing in the public sector but he asserts that he made these institutions viable while they were on the verge of collapse. Another allegation against Shaukat Aziz is that as a Finance Minister his policies were not aimed at alleviating poverty as he seldom offered relief to the poor sections of the society. But it is claimed by many analysts that he achieved his target and strengthened the country's economic base; the recent economic figures prove his policies have worked. He improved the country's growth rate by 6.4% a year. For the first time in Pakistan's history revenue collection targets have been met in his tenure and allocation for development has increased by about 40 per cent though this success is attributed largely to debt reduction and securing of hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and aid in return for support in the US-led war on terror. Moreover, despite a series of internal and external distresses, economic situation of Pakistan improved significantly and reserves increased to US$ 10.56 billion on June 30, 2004 as compared to US$ 1.2 billion Oct 1999. Exchange Rate became stable and predictable. Inflation rate dropped to 3.5 % in last 3 years as against 11-12% in 1990’s.
He is appreciated by members of his personal staff as a hard worker who always maintained a strong financial discipline. He gave special attention to the development work at Gwadar Port and played an important part in developing other parts of Gwadar and making it an important city in the future. He was promptly nominated by the ruling party for the position of Prime Minister after Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigned. As he had to secure a seat in parliament - a requirement to take up the top post – Shaukat Aziz easily won two seats with a great margin from Attock and Tharparkar in the by-elections.
Mr Aziz is a soft-spoken, smartly dressed and married with three children.
