Salmaan Taseer inaugurates relief camp at Punjab University

Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer has said that he was very happy that the students of Punjab University established relief camp for the internally displaced persons of Swat, and teachers and employees donated their one-day salary for their welfare.
He expressed these views while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a relief camp established at PU College of Art and Design (PUCAD) here at Allama Iqbal (Old) Campus on Monday. Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran, faculty members and a large number of students were also present on the occasion.
He said Punjab University was the oldest and largest University of the country and the very positive efforts for the people of Swat from the platform of PU were very pleasant. The governor said this was our national issue. Pakistan was facing very critical issue and there was no point of return. He said there was dire need that people must support Pakistan and army as the real power of Pakistan was people and army.
Later, Governor Salmaan Taseer visited some departments of the college and talked to teachers and students there. Some students were working on their paintings, the governor appreciated the art work of a student and said the students of the PUCAD had much potential and creative talent.
While Punjab University Pakistan Study Centre (PSC) in collaboration with Department of History organised a special lecture on "The Creation of Pakistan: Role of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah". Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran inaugurated the series of special lectures. Professor Dr David Gilmartin, a well-recognised historian and eminent scholar of international repute, from North Carolina State University, was the keynote speaker.
In his address, Professor Gilmartin emphasised that Jinnah's leadership was tremendously important in the creation of Pakistan and has been much analysed and debated by South Asian scholars. However, he focused on the controversy generated by Ayesha Jalal's seminal work, The Sole Spokesman, where many believed that Professor Jalal put forward the thesis that Jinnah at the very last looked for a United India and proposed Pakistan only as a bargaining counter.
Professor Gilmartin believed that it was a misreading of Jalal's book. According to him, the book raised the main issue of the divisions amongst the Muslims of India, which structured the whole dynamics of the Muslim League politics. He contended that Pakistan might not have been necessary if Muslims showed a united front.
The symbolism of Muslim unity according to the speaker was achieved through emphasising on the morality of Islam by transcending the selfish interests of biradary, caste, or locality. In this way in the elections of 1945-46 the higher moral ideals were put forward by the Muslim League leadership to win the battle for Pakistan.