What Altaf Hussain said 35 years ago is being said by every child today
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It is sad to note that Pakistan's history hasn't been good enough and the young generation has been deprived of real history. The British Empire divided India to hand over power to its most loyal people who had served in its army, so that even after the British left India they could maintain their influence in the South Asia region. When the admirers of the British Empire saw that Quaid-e Azam Muhammed Ali Jinnah wanted to make Pakistan a free and independent state against their will, in 1948 he was poisoned and sent to Ziarat in Balochistan where his health had deteriorated, and when he was in a very critical condition, he was shifted to Karachi in a faulty ambulance under a planned scheme. The ambulance broke down on the way, and Quaid-e Azam passed away en route. After that, in 1951, Quaid-e Azam’s right-hand man and the country’s first Prime Minister, Khan Liaquat Ali Khan, was also assassinated in Rawalpindi at a crowded assembly of people by hired people under a conspiratorial plan of the military establishment. After this, Quaid-e Azam’s sister, Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, took courage and led a public campaign against the dictator General Ayub Khan who had imposed the first martial law in the country. She contested the presidential elections against him in 1964 but was defeated through rigging. The petitions that Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah had filed against the dictatorial steps of General Ayub Khan were never heard, because before that she was murdered inside home. After that the military establishment cemented its reign over Pakistan which continues to this day. Because of the military establishment, no elected Prime Minister of Pakistan had ever been able to complete his elected tenure. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was taken to the gallows, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, and thus all elected governments were toppled.
When Imran Khan formed his government in Pakistan, he was unaware of the conspiracies of the power mafia and had no knowledge at all of the cunning deeds of the military generals. When he became Prime Minister, he started to have daily sittings with the ISI and MI chiefs and the senior leadership of the army. He used to attend not only at GHQ and Aab Para (ISI headquarter) but also meetings were held at the homes of army generals and judges. Since Imran Khan was not a feud, landlord, or capitalist but belonged to the upper middle class, when he observed the personal lives of the army generals and Supreme Court judges, he realised that their world was altogether different. He came to know that not only generals and judges rule Pakistan, but they have the backing of the Superpower United States of America. Pakistan has been transformed into the U.S colony. U.S. shapes the fabric of Pakistan’s foreign policy, and it is her that directs the Pakistani generals that despite massacre in Palestine, no one in Pakistan will hold and raise the Palestine colours. When Imran Khan challenged foreign intervention and raised the slogan of real freedom, he was implicated in false cases and imprisoned, and to this day he remains in jail.
These are historical facts that what Imran Khan is saying today, Altaf Hussain had already told the nation at a time when Imran Khan was unfamiliar even with the alphabet of politics. Before Imran Khan, the only voice that challenged the corrupt army generals was Altaf Hussain alone. Except for Altaf Hussain, there was no one in Pakistan who pointed out the corruption and wrongdoings of the generals. When Altaf Hussain spoke 47 years ago against the outdated feudal, landlord, and military monarchy system and against the interference of the army in politics, the entire Pakistan branded me a traitor, enemy of the country, extortionist, and foreign agent, and other accusations were leveled.
The army had shaped the minds of the entire country, especially the people of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in such a way that they considered even legitimate criticism on the army as a sin, and this was the reason that in speaking truth and facts they considered Altaf Hussain an enemy of the country.
Today the words of Altaf Hussain are coming out of the mouth of Imran Khan. Now the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are realising that the army imposed the Taliban in KPK, carried out terrorism through them, the province came under suicide bombings, and poor Pathans were turned into IDPs and sent to camps. Under the name of army operations, catastrophes were inflicted upon the Pashtuns, and when the tragedy of Army Public School Peshawar took place, the Pashtuns’ eyes opened as to who was behind all the massacres. The people of Punjab until yesterday were not ready to listen to any legitimate complaint against the army, but today, by the grace of Allah, they are accepting that Pakistan has been under the grip of the army for 78 years. The children of army generals and judges study abroad, they have separate schools and separate hospitals, and after retirement the generals settle abroad with their families. The patriotism of army generals remains only as long as they hold the stick of power, and once that stick slips from their hands, diamonds, jewels, and wealth become their faith. Thanks God that those who used to abuse me for speaking the truth are now openly admitting that indeed they were naive and kept believing the army against me, for which they are regretful. Today even from their minds this illusion has washed away, and now across Pakistan the same facts are resonating which Altaf Hussain has been telling the nation for 35 years. The things I said 35 years ago about corrupt army generals are the very things every child of Pakistan is saying today, accepting my words. This is not only the success of my ideology but also the result of the sacrifices of the steadfast companions of the movement, the martyrs, the missing, and the imprisoned companions. Neither any idealogy can be spread nor does any movement achieve its destination sans sacrifices. If you study Islamic history, you will know that thousands of Muslims embraced martyrdom before the conquest of Mecca took place. Henceforth, for our mission and purpose we must not avoid any kind of sacrifice.
Altaf Hussain.
Public address at his 72nd birthday ceremony in Durban, South Africa.
September 20, 2025.
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