Sir: Democracy is the best form of government ever invented but it must deliver or else it fails. Opportunists find the opportunity and strike. Thus it becomes easy to derail democracy. Every other institution claims to save our fragile democracy. The judiciary itself claims that martial law has been buried forever. This means that the diseased mind has been cured. Power is desirable and feeds upon the weakness of people. The temptation is too great to just pass up. Sane people do not deal with conspiracy theories nor indulge in them. In the short history of Pakistan, for more than 40 odd years we remained under dictatorial rule. They ruled with impunity and with the blessings of the courts, exceeded their authority and their rule was always given a fresh lease of life by the judiciary. The champions of democracy sided with the martial law regimes. All of them made a mockery of democracy. Instead of fighting against dictatorial rule, they further strengthened it. The Greeks chose democracy over autocracy. They propagated democratic rule of law and fought against hegemonic regimes. We have been giving lip service to the Greek model of democracy and have never given it a chance to prosper. No power can save democracy unless we, the people, are willing to strengthen its roots. It has to come from within. No outside force can derail it. We should stop berating democracy. The days of dictatorship are gone but we have to keep vigilance over ourselves. Only we have the power to either stabilise it or derail it. JAVAID BASHIR Lahore