As soon as the month of August commences, the countdown begins to the day that holds great significance for us, the day we attained an independent country of our own, while everyone is engulfed in a sea of varied emotions.

Those who were present at the time of the creation feel nostalgia at all that they lost and left behind as well as feel a sense of freedom and belonging; those who saw the building of Pakistan feel pride. While those of us who did not witness the creation or the development of this great country, also feel all those sentiments because they are a part of our heritage.

All this is reflected in what is said and written about the past, the present and the future. There is however quite a lot of disappointment and distress at the setbacks, as well as at the chaos, uncertainty, challenges and problems of recent years that have hindered in the actual progress of the country. However it is commendable to see that in keeping the spirit of the freedom struggle alive; most of the people have an optimistic attitude, the desire to serve and to show the rest of the world that we are no less than any other nation. A lot of effort is being made to accomplish this and that is how the country is moving forward.

There are uncountable reasons for one to feel privileged to belong to Pakistan; following are some of the outstanding ones:

14 Reasons to be Proud of Being a Pakistani

1. Pakistan came into being because we had the greatest leader any nation could ever have had. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a towering personality with immense fortitude and foresight, for he not only achieved Pakistan in the most adverse conditions, he also battled with a severe illness that not many knew about. Collins and Lapierre in Freedom at Midnight write,
   

   If Louis Mountbatten, Nehru or Mahatama Gandhi had been aware in April 1947 of this one extraordinary secret, the division threatening India might have been avoided for even the British CID one of the most effective investigative agencies of the world was ignorant of its existence

2. Our Army & Air Force in terms of size and strength are in the top ten of the world. Furthermore since 1960, Pakistan has played a major role in UN Peacekeeping Operations. Our military and law enforcement personnel have been consistently serving and have taken part in 41 missions across 23 countries. And many times we have been the top-most contributing country. While the PAF has to its immense credit, a vast experience in training personnel from various countries. Just this year, the Iraq Air Defense Force signed an agreement to receive training in modern air warfare.
3. We have intellectuals, economists, scientists, doctors, engineers, sportspersons, philanthropists, artists (in all genres) and artisans par excellence.
4. The Nobel Prize in Physics was won by Dr. Abdus Salam in 1979, who was the first and only Pakistani scientist to receive this award. He is the only scientist to date who has received the highest number of state awards.
5. We have among us world-class players in Hockey, Cricket & Squash holding unbeaten world records (namely Shahbaz Ahmed & Sohail Abbas. Wasim Akram & Waqar Younis. Jahangir Khan & Jansher Khan)
6. Pakistan is the world’s top refugee-hosting country (around 1.8 million reside at the moment)
7. We are a very charitable nation, and have numerous organizations which are continuously working for the betterment of the society as well as help other countries in their time of need (such as Edhi Foundation, Al-Khidmat Foundation, Khana Ghar, the Citizens Foundation, Human Development Foundation to name a few).
8. We rank number 4 worldwide in terms of intelligence. This is based on the survey of 125 countries conducted in 2012 by the Institute of European Business Administration, which stated that
   

   Pakistanis are equal to people of developed and industrialized countries when it comes to intelligence

   

9. Seven of our universities are in the Top 250 of Asia. While three are in the world’s Top 200 universities in the discipline of Forestry & Agriculture. (This is based on ranking done in 2013 by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), UK, which is a ranking agency of international standing). Also in the past seven years there has been a 320% increase in our research output, making ours the second highest growth-rate in the world.
10. Two extraordinary examples of architectural finesse; are the Karakoram Highway, which is considered one of the Eighth Wonders of the World. And Tarbela Dam which is the world’s largest earth filled dam and the second largest according to structural volume.
11. Globally Pakistan is No. 8 in Farm Output. This attributes to the fact that we are among the top ten producers of items such as wheat, cotton, turmeric, sugar, okra, onion, chickpeas, milk, dates, mangoes, mandarin and apricots in the world.
12. Sialkot is our only city which exports 99% of its products to different countries around the world. And for over a century it has been producing hand-stitched footballs and has been the leading manufacturing hub, meeting about 50-70% of the world’s demand (that depending on market oscillation). And we have had the opportunity to supply our footballs in several international tournaments, the major one being FIFA.
13. Numerous individuals have been successful in creating records in various categories, which have been included in the Guinness Book of World Records, the bestselling book of all times. (Just a few days ago, 9 year old Hasham Hadi Khan who was the youngest member of the Pakistani team has made a world record by achieving the highest score in a scrabble match (878) while playing in the 6^th International Scrabble Championship held in Sri Lanka)
14. Wherever they go they have proved their worth. They are patriotic, talented, competitive & diligent. They are: our Youth (Last month 23 year old Samina Baig, who has climbed the world’s 7 highest peaks in 7 continents with her brother in a span of less than 8 months, has become the youngest Muslim and only Pakistani woman to do so).

You can read more about the emerging comedians among our youth or about the talented participants of the National Spelling Bee competition
So it is due the unwavering spirit of the people and their profound love for the country that the candle of hope is burning bright. Amazing People!! Amazing Pakistan!!