Pakistan, July 8 -- The United States recently celebrated its Independence Day on July 4. Nearly 250 years ago, in 1776, the thirteen American colonies declared their independence from the British Empire. At the time, the American leadership adopted a historic document, i.e. the Declaration of Independence, whose central message was remarkably revolutionary for its era. In the decades that followed, its principles influenced constitutional and democratic systems across the world, including Pakistan. It proclaimed that all human beings are created equal; that they possess the right to liberty and to pursue happiness, and that the true source of governmental authority lies with the people. These principles later provided the intellectual fo...