Opinion Losing it

Minus-two formula

• Vendetta politics between the Sharifs and the Bhuttos has gone too far. The acrimony worsened,predictably,after Asif Ali Zardari assumed office. Zardari is a political novice,lacking the skills acquired by his late wife. Nawaz Sharif and Zardari are damaging Pakistani democracy more than the army. In fact,General Kayani appears to be patient and level-headed by contrast. For Pakistan’s sake,it’s time Zardari and Sharif were both sidelined.

— R. Narayanan Ghaziabad

Imperilled again

• What’s happening in Pakistan is very dangerous. It began with the Swat agreement,which didn’t curb terrorism as borne out by the Lahore attack on Sri Lankan cricketers. Now the fallout of the disqualification of the Sharif brothers and the dismissal of the Punjab government is about to plunge Pakistan into chaos. Even if Nawaz Sharif enjoys enough public support at the moment to pose as a civilian alternative to Zardari,it seems that democracy in Pakistan has been imperilled yet again.

— R.J. Khurana Bhopal

In perspective

• This refers to K.S. Bajpai’s ‘Saving Pakistan from itself’ and Richard Cohen’s ‘Saving the world can wait…’. Read together,these two articles give perspective to the volatility in our western neighbourhood. Post-World War II,the US coopted Pakistan into the Cold War and Peshawar emerged as a front against the Soviet empire. Pakistan thought it was a trade-off to resolve the Kashmir dispute in its favour. But Pakistan began the vicious cycle of democracy and dictatorship. And the subcontinent became the most dangerous place on earth. The fault is Amercia’s,which even now is handling Afghanistan and Pakistan wrongly.

— Prasad Malladi

Nidadavole

Good Taliban?

• Does the expedient of negotiations hold for an organisation like the Taliban,known for its hatred of progressive civil rights and democracy? The Obama administration’s willingness to talk to the “good” Taliban will not be productive. Distinguishing etween the “good” and the “bad” in this case is akin to separating the killer from the one that instigates him. 

— Saumya Brata Panda

Noida