— Ashwani Sharma

Ghaziabad

India’s old worries

• A good commando is one who knows when to appear and when to disappear. Musharraf seems to have forgotten the second part of this basic lesson. He captured power with the aplomb of a good commando, maintained an upper hand during his stewardship of Pakistan, but forgot when best to leave the scene. This proved to be his undoing. He stayed on for too long and lost his chance to quit honourably. He may not have been very good for India but his potential replacements do not inspire much hope either.

— R.J. Khurana Bhopal

US exemplum

• Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Unlike this famous quote what corrupted Musharraf was the absolute backing of a superpower: the US. He emerged as the most trusted American ally in its unpopular ‘war on terror’, but the US cut the ground from under his feet when he needed it the most. Here lies a lesson for countries like Saudi Arabia which are under the illusion of US protection. Even India, which has mortgaged its sovereignty by signing the nuke deal, must be cautious now because the US will sacrifice anyone in its own selfish political interest.

— Khan Yasir New Delhi