Pakistan was in a dire condition in the first few years after its independence. India had refused to give Pakistan its fair and agreed upon share from the treasury of British India. We had no industry and no manufacturing. Some important Muslim majority districts had been unfairly awarded to India in the partition plan, so millions of Muslims now had to migrate to Pakistan leaving behind all their properties and belongings. The rehabilitation of these refugees was an enormous challenge.
So when the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, visited USA on the invitation of US President Henry Truman, and met with major US bankers and industrialist who offered to assist Pakistan, but on one condition that Pakistan must recognize Israel, I can imagine how tempting this offer would have been for many leaders and it would definitely make many modern Pakistani leaders comprise immediately and rush home to give people the "good news" and tell them that it was a very "successful visit" that has "secured our future".
But this was Liaquat. The right hand man of Quaid-e-Azam and his chosen deputy. He was the man behind Pakistan's 1949 objectives resolution and the famous "Poor Man's Budget" of the 1947 interim government of India. On hearing this offer. he very casually and calmly replied to the US industrialists, "Gentlemen! Our soul is not for sale.", and that was the end of that conversation.
Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated not long after, on 16th October 1951 while addressing a public rally in my hometown Rawalpindi. The assassin was an Afghan national who was killed on the spot. His motives, his accomplices and the mysteries behind this murder were never fully disclosed.
The park where that rally took place was renamed Liaquat Bagh (Liaquat's Park). It was situated just a couple of kilometres away from my home and I used to pray Eid prayers there every year.
May Allah bless Liaquat Ali Khan, may He forgive his mistakes and enter him in to paradise.
Our soul was not for sale then and it is not for sale now!