Sir: There have been seventy one years to our independence; but we have not been able to strengthen our institutions to a desired level. Rather, we have done everything to destroy them for the attainment of our vested interests. Except for the institutions of Army and Federal/Provincial Public Service Commissions, there is hardly an institution within our country we can proudly mention of. The successive federal/provincial governments have not bothered to improve and strengthen other institutions of the country for effective deliverance of the system. The institutions such as The Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills, Sui Southern/Northern Gas Companies, PIA, WAPDA, Federal and Provincial tax collecting departments, Police, Health and Education departments, lower judiciary, Federal and provincial investigation agencies such as F.I.A, NAB and Anti-Corruption, Federal and Provincial Civil Service — all stand destroyed and rotten. Out of turn promotions of inefficient and duffer officers, involvement of government employees in massive corruption in their respective departments, lack of accountability of the authorities concerned against the done misdeeds, recruitment of persons on political basis, favouritism in transfer and postings, injustice with the common people, delayed justice, spread of common diseases, illiteracy, are some of the examples which clearly indicate that the institutions of the country have become so week that they have failed to check all that happening there. It is perhaps because of the reason that persons have been made stronger than the institutions. A strong and disciplined institution does not allow even a head of that institution to bypass its authority and forces him/her to remain within his/her assigned task/limit. If we have to strengthen our institutions, then we must stop strengthening persons working there. Rather, we must introduce such laws and framework in these institutions which discourage the monopoly of one person and the system there keeps on functioning smoothly even after the transfer/retirement of head of a institution. Because persons come and go but it is the institution which remains there for its effective delivery without really waiting for another person to be posted there. ABDUL SAMAD SAMO Karachi Published in Daily Times, April 19th 2018.