Pakistan ka Matlab Kea?

Yesterday, Maulana Fazlur Rehman stated that after 9/11 Pakistan is re-emerging as secular state even
though it was founded on "Pakistan ka matlab kea: La ilaha illallah". The counterargument is that Jinnah
dismissed this slogan, so I investigated. 1/8

According to Malik Ghulam Nabi, who was a member of the Muslim League Council at the annual
session of the Muslim League in December 1947, when a random man from UP chanted Pakistan ka
Matlab Kea, Jinnah shut him down. 2/8

The incident is mentioned in Malik Ghulam Nabi's book 'Daghon ki Bahar'. It was also quoted by Raja of
Mehmudabad as per an article of Frontier Post from 9 May 1991 by intellectual Ahmad Bashir. I went
through official document of Muslim League's annual session from December 1947. 3/8

Unsurprisingly, it wasn't there as the incident wasn't part of official talks between leaders. However,
Maulana Jamal Mian was there as per official record and he moved a resolution asking for not labelling
Pakistan a "Muslim State" as nothing about its leaders was Islamic.4/8

Although Maulana was conservative compared to the League's top brass of liberals, his interpretation of
Islam was surprisingly rational. He stated that Pakistan couldn't be called Islamic because the poor
weren't treated equally as leaders. Jinnah objected. 5/8

According to Jinnah, the country was only a few months old and the time for that would soon arrive
because Islamic ideals also stood for the equality of mankind. However, Pakistan shall only be a Muslim
state and not an ecclesiastical (religious/priestly) state. 6/8
Interestingly, the Pakistan ka Matlab Kea incident is also quoted in former Ambassador Saad Khairi's
book 'Jinnah Reinterpreted'. To hear the other side of the argument he contacted the same Maulana
Jamal Mian, a conservative, who was present at the meeting as mentioned earlier. 7/8

Maulana refused to disown Jinnah's statement against Pakistan ka Matlab Kea. Jinnah had already told
the meeting that Pakistan wasn't religious in response to Maulana's statement. Hence, the quote seems
to be true. Pakistan ka Matlab Kea is wrongly associated with Pakistan. 8/8