ISLAMABAD: The 15th death anniversary of Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, also known as ‘Baba-e-Jamhooriat’, was observed today.
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan spent all his life fighting against the military as well as civil dictators and struggled to strengthen the parliamentary democracy. Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan was born on 13 November 1916 in Khangarh District in Central Punjab. He commenced his politics in 1930 when Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam was formed by Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari. Nawabzada was also elected as secretary general of All India Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam in 1945. He joined the Muslim League in 1947 after the partition. He won a seat in the 1952 provincial assembly election and in 1962 the National Assembly elections.
In 1964 he supported Mohtarma Fatema Jinnah in the election against military dictator president Ayub Khan. In 1966, he served as President of the All-Pakistan Awami League. He helped form the opposition alliance called Democratic Action Committee to remove military dictator president Ayub Khan from power. In 1993 He was elected again to the national assembly. He was also made the chairperson of the Kashmir Committee. Just before his death, he was the Chairman of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) working for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan against Pervez Musharraf. He died on 26 September 2003 at the age of 85 after being admitted to a hospital here following a heart attack. 

Speakers at a reference eulogized his struggle for the restoration of the democratic process in the country by bringing opposition parties at one platform.
They were of the view that the services of Pakistan’s ‘father of democracy’ should be made part of the educational curriculum to acquaint the future generations with his work for the betterment of the country. They expressed these views at a seminar titled ‘National Memorial Reference’ that was organized by the son of Nawabzada in connection with the latter’s 15th death anniversary.  Pakistan Peoples Party Co-Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who was the chief guest, said he felt proud to say that Nawabzada Iftikhar Khan, who was the son of a national hero, was elected for the National Assembly seat on the PPP ticket. “Nawabzada had a quality to create consensus among the different political parties,” he added. “The presence of various political parties’ leaders under one roof tells us that he is still alive,” he remarked.
Nawabzada, Bilawal said, was the only political figure who always played a role of opposition in all government tenures except the second term of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. His services for democracy was a lesson for the upcoming generations. Urging the all political parties for doing the politics on civic issues, he said, an independent democracy demanded the empowerment of democratic institutions. Bilawal emphasized the provision of cheap and speedy justice to a layman. President of Pakistan National Party Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo termed Nawabzada a multi-faceted personality and a nightmare for anti-democratic elements of the country.
He said Nawabzada played a crucial role in the formation of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) during the suspension of the democratic process in the country. He stressed for rejuvenating the spirit of Nawabzada in the youth.  Azad jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider recalled the services of Nawabzada for the Kashmir cause and said he was the first person who had taken out a procession for Kashmir in 1935.
He asked the youngsters to follow the legacy of Nawabzada for the continuity of democratic process. Farooq also recited a poem ‘Aaj ki Raat’ (today’s night), which Nawabzada had written for Kashmiris.  Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Rana Tanvir said Nawabzada had earned the title of ‘Baba-e-Jamhuriyat’ due to his struggle for democracy throughout his life. He even today was a guiding force for l political leaders. “We should work for strengthening the state institutions by following his footsteps,” he added.
Asad Mahmood, who is the son of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-F President Maulana Fazalur Rahman, said Nawabzada was not only a political person but also a social worker who had always supported his friends in difficult times. Despite spending 12 years in prison, he left no stone unturned for reviving the democratic process in the country, he added. Senior journalist Hamid Mir said Nawabzada had always manged to gather all political parties on the only agenda of democracy.