Sir: As soon as the meeting of the US Generals with General Kayani was over, politicians started to notify the nation that the NATO supply routes would be opened. There is a debate on the national media about the pros and cons of this action with arguments tilted towards the US. I want readers to remember the time when General Musharraf agreed to be the frontline ally of the US on a single phone call. The US had said that even if Pakistan would not cooperate, other options to attack Afghanistan were open and viable. Musharraf, in his book In the Line of Fire, had also mentioned three reasons for submitting to his western ‘friends’. First, it would bring an economic boost in Pakistan. Second, the US would facilitate resolving the Kashmir issue. Third, our nuclear programme would have the backing of the US. A decade has passed since and even a cursory look at the situation of Pakistan is enough for anyone to see that none of the aforementioned aims had been realised. Rather, we are pushed to the ‘Stone Age’ because of siding with the USA. These 10 years of suffering and miseries have turned Pakistan into a land of fear, terror and horror, where people are abducted by the secret agencies in daylight, and media channels that run on commercial basis stage political comedy shows that allow people to express their frustration on a daily basis. Pakistan needs some self-respect to survive as a nation. It should either act wisely on the first step or remain steadfast if it decides to take up the challenge. An act of vacillation exposes the inherent weaknesses that further undermine self-respect and national spirit. ABDULLAH ANSARI Lahore