by NADEEM F. PARACHA
Ever since the 1980s, many Pakistani school text books have unflappably claimed that the history of Pakistan does not start from 14 August 1947, but from the date Arab warrior, Muhammad Bin Qasim, conquered Sindh in the 8th Century …
Though most true Pakistani patriots believe this, they differ on some of the details as to exactly how Qasim achieved this wonderful feat of gifting the world with what has gone on to become one of the finest, strongest and most pious Islamic republics in the whole wide world.
For example, according to the famous intellectual/historian/scholar/long-haired-guy, Zaid Hamid, Pakistan actually came into being the moment Muhammad Bin Qasim was born.
Zaid suggests that Qasim’s birth symbolises the birth of Pakistan and thus, Pakistan actually came into being on 31 December, 695 AD.
Zaid Hamid is known to celebrate Pakistan’s Day of Independence on 31 December instead of 14 August. He does this by resolving to plant the victorious Pakistan flag in India, China, Iran, US, UK, Kirghizstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Balochistan.
The greatest Islamic political party in the whole wide ummah, the Jamat-e-Islami (JI), also believes that Pakistan’s creation goes back to the days of Muhammad Bin Qasim’s rule in Sindh in the 8th century.
But JI claims that Qasim was initially against creating Pakistan because there were just too many Hindus, Buddhists, Jain and Liberal Fascists in Sindh.
However, after the religious scholars in his entourage had successfully converted many non-Muslims, Qasim realised that most of the converts had distorted the faith and were erecting minarets over their places of worship and calling them mosques.
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