•Apart from the substance of Manmohan Singh’s joint statement with the Pakistan PM, the question is: is it necessary to keep the door of dialogue open, with a troubled neighbour and a weak, indecisive government (‘All aboard’, IE, July 31)? But, India and Pakistan have a common enemy: terrorism, emanating from Pakistani soil. If we don’t keep dialogue open, what is the alternative, except a dangerous stalemate or at worst, war, which neither country can afford? The joint statement only indicates each country’s ultimate goal: peace within and without. The Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has done the right thing in backing the prime minister; not because he is the PM but because he has done the right thing under the circumstances.

— Parimal Y. Mehta

Mumbai

No excuses

•In line with Pakistan’s long-held strategy of blaming India when its internal troubles get out of control, it has been holding India responsible for fomenting the separatist movement in Balochistan (‘House that’, IE, July 30). The PM was expected to go much beyond complacency on small victories like “the Pak dossier on 26/11 was the first-ever admission of terror emanating from its soil”. Instead of relying on the wisdom of Ronald Reagan’s words “trust but verify”, as Manmohan Singh mentioned in Lok Sabha, he should have relied on Lal Bahadur Shastri’s home-truth — “If you want peace, go to war.” Whatever the merits of the new strategy vis-à-vis Pakistan, India needs a tougher line.

— Suryatmaj T.

... contd.