As yet one more 14 August passes by, we need to ponder as to why we have betrayed Quaid's vision of a democratic welfare state called Pakistan. Did our Founding Fathers struggle to free us from dominance of an economically powerful Hindu majority, only to be exploited and left at the mercy of scheming politicians who would not even spare poor Hajjis, or soldiers of fortune who would abuse their oath and equally corrupt bureaucrats or traders? Why, are we the people, tolerating all these abuses and allowing Quaid's Pakistan to be become a haven for criminals and white collar robbers, who consider it their right to rob the state and defy laws and orders of Supreme Court?. Instead of becoming a welfare state for the most deprived sections of our population, this country has become a welfare state for its paid civil and uniformed bureaucracy and those who seek public office through elections. Why have we allowed religion to be exploited by those whose hands are tainted with blood and ill-gotten wealth? Those who rule us by default and our own failure to make a proper electoral choice, do not consider this country worth living in for their children, nor for their vast assets to be located here. They know that after they have been through, with their planned scheme of things, this country would either default or become a Banana Republic. The fault lies with us for enduring and tolerating this nonsense. MALIK TARIQ ALI, Lahore, August 15.