This is apropos of Kamran Shafi's column 'Putting on a brave face and standing tall' (Aug 24). There was no dispute about the army rule in the country.

The correction was made in the period of political governments; the details are available on the Internet. Unfortunately, all our civilian rulers need the crutches of the army to run the affairs of the country.

As a result, the army, whether in power or under civil rule, continues to enjoy a superiority status and it is too late to do away with it.

Even today the democratically-elected government is dependent on the army. Whom to blame? The answer is known to everybody.

Pakistan will continue to hold an important position as far as Afghanistan is concerned, otherwise the only superpower would never have sought Pakistan's help. They would not have pumped us with military aid and support funds.

As an independent nation we must all the time put up a brave face like any other nation. Failures of individuals cannot be construed as failure of the nation.

We continue harping on low literacy rate, poverty, sectarian extremism and maltreatment of minorities.

But who is to be blamed? Nobody else except us. There does not seem to be a single soul that can come forward and steer the country out of this impasse; we are all busy criticising each other without making any contribution and this is the biggest tragedy of this nation.

However, these ailments can be routed out in a short period provided we follow the rule of law. What happened in Sialkot is just neglect of the rule of law and no fear of accountability whatsoever.

Today all the institutions of the country have collapsed except the army, the only hope of this nation which alone is fighting on many fronts.

It is a good suggestion to spend less on weapons of mass destruction and F-16s. To achieve this, we don't have to cut down on minimum deterrence expenses as it will jeopardise safety and security of our country, knowing fully well that the sword of Damocles is hanging over our heads.

If we can stop the leakage of taxes that runs into billions of rupees every year, it will be enough to provide education, health and safe drinking water.

How can you term ground reality a mantra? Our geographical location is gaining more importance with the passage of time; let us grant some wisdom to the US that they are not betting on the wrong horse.

We have few friends, no support from countries, and a lack of trust in ourselves. It is not the fault of the state.

The responsibility rests on the shoulders of the rulers who are elected by 170 million people of Pakistan. It is only they who can bring change.

Let us not undermine the capabilities of this nation and its armed forces. Let us start saying that the glass is not half empty but it is half full.

MUKHTAR AHMED BUTT
Karachi