Islamabad: The 87th death anniversary of philosopher, poet, and thinker Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal was observed on Monday, highlighting his contributions to the Muslims of the subcontinent. Born on November 9, 1877, in Sialkot, Allama Iqbal was a visionary who envisioned a separate homeland for Muslims, which later became Pakistan. Through his poetry and thoughts, he inspired Muslims to seek knowledge and realize their true potential.

According to Radio Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif have urged the nation to embrace the teachings of Allama Iqbal. In their messages marking Iqbal’s death anniversary, they called for collective efforts to build a strong, sovereign, and developed Pakistan by following the Poet of the East’s thoughts.

The President emphasized the importance of Allama Iqbal’s teachings for delivering social and economic justice to all citizens. He paid tribute to Iqbal’s political and intellectual contributions, noting that Iqbal’s poetry encompasses themes of selfhood, reformation, divine love, freedom of thought, and the renaissance of the Islamic Ummah. The President highlighted Iqbal’s use of poetry as a medium to awaken the Ummah to knowledge, wisdom, self-confidence, and the message of true religion.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described Iqbal as a farsighted leader who first articulated the idea of a separate country for Muslims in his 1930 Allahabad address. This vision, he noted, was realized under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, culminating in the creation of Pakistan.