PAKISTAN Day every year is a reminder of the idea of Pakistan as well as the gap between that idea and vision embodied in the Lahore Resolution seventy years ago by the Muslims of the subcontinent on the one hand, and the reality of what Pakistan has become today. Successive years of destruction by the rulers - both military and political - and the tragic breakup of the country in 1971, aided and abetted by India have taken its toll on the nation. Provincialism, sectarianism and ethnic polarisation has raised its ugly head, as the peoples aspiration for democracy has constantly been thwarted by military dictators and by the civilian political elite who have never responded to the needs of the people but have looked to foreign masters or to extra-democratic forces to sustain them in power. The one constant through alternating civil and military rule has been the unending greed of the ruling elite who have plundered the country and its rich resources with no restraint. That is why countries in the developing world, like Malaysia, which looked to Pakistan in the fifties have leapt ahead and wonder what happened to us. Take just one example of the national airline, PIA. It helped set up the some of the leading airlines of West and Southeast Asia but look where it stands today - bankrupt, inefficient and nowhere amongst these leaders. Even today our ruling elite has learnt no lessons from our history. They continue to court the same powers that consistently let us down and abetted the enemy; and they continue to ignore the issues confronting the people of this land - preferring instead to play political games, give a costly access to international economic institutions like the IMF and World Bank and politico-military access to allies of India like the US. If the civilian leadership is inept and corrupt, the last military leadership took us into a war that is destroying our country, took its own people and handed them over to the US or simply made them disappear. No, none of our leaders have learnt even the basic lessons of our history. Yet, despite all these travesties of justice and adversarial conditions, the Pakistani nation stands as a bulwark against external actors nefarious designs against Pakistan. Despite the polarisation and seeds of hatred sown in our midst, and the violence and terrorism running across the country, the resilience of the nation is evident. We have made progress against all odds - be it in the nuclear field or against threats to our survival. A new dawn of people power also showed itself on the horizon with the movement for the restoration of the senior judiciary. If ever there was a battle fought against all odds, this was the one and it ended in victory for the people. Today the people look to the independent judiciary as their hope for battling against the evils of corruption and state injustice. The media today also stands strong and independent, bearing testimony to the fight and sacrifices it has had to undertake for its freedom. In many ways, the newspaper Nawa-i-Waqt, which also came into being seventy years ago on March 23, epitomises this battling of tyranny in the fight for justice, freedom and that vision of Pakistan Jinnah translated into a reality. It is the fulfilment of this vision that explains why the Pakistani nation will always defy all odds and rise up to all the challenges confronting it. Perhaps in time its leaders will be able to catch up with their peoples aspirations.