THE vision of the Quaid-i-Azam, Allama Iqbaland otherfoundingfathersfor building a modern welfare state has been distorted.

While we praise Feroze Khan Noon for Gwadar, he cannot escape criticism for giving extension in tenure to Ayub Khan.

Individuals like Ayub, Zia, Musharraf, Zardari and even Nawaz had no moral and constitutional authority to distort the then Quaid`s vision, suspend the constitution and compromise our sovereignty.

Today our ruling elite and their families with assets acquired beyond their declared sources of income live in the Gulf, UK, Canada, etc, where decisions about the fate of Pakistan continue to be made just like they were under the Raj by the East India Company.

When politicians and paid public office-holders, with visible conflicts of interest, are allowed to exercise unlimited powers, the result then is the collapse of the state-funded institutions and regulatory bodies like the National Highway, Water and Power Development Authority, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan State Oil.

These also include Civil Aviation Authority, State Bank of Pakistan, Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Election Commission ofPakistan, Capital Development Authority, Karachi Port Trust, National Bank of Pakistan, etc, while the ruling elite`s individual assets grow astronomically.

M. T. Ali Lahore