Sir: This is a very bittersweet Independence Day. While we do celebrate the birth of a new country some 67 years ago, more and more people are now lamenting the state of affairs in which they find themselves. There is no electricity to power our homes, no gas to power our vehicles and stoves, and no opportunities to enable us to earn more and beat the rising inflation. What is the use of a separate homeland when we, the citizens, find ourselves cursing the day we were born?All of our politicians and religious leaders care only for themselves and spare hardly a thought for the real essence of the nation: the people.DANISH KHANLahore