For a country already on thin ice, Musharraf’s departure means a new and intense struggle for Pakistan to stay afloat. Crucially, it remains to be seen if his successors — the democratic forces — will be able to reign in the terrorist organisations. No fate could be worse for Pakistan if the terrorists are still allowed to have their way.

Game Up

If one goes by the benchmark set by China for Beijing Olympics, it is hard to believe that New Delhi is even one per cent ready for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games. There are still no visible signs of any games infrastructure. Commonwealth Games are no small event — they see participation from no less than 70 countries and are rightly called semi-Olympics. It took China eight years on a war footing to prepare itself for Olympics. In India, we have not even started the preparations. Before this situation causes international embarrassment for India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should intervene and prod everyone responsible for getting the basic Games infrastructure in order.

Delhi Commonwealth Games are just one and a half year away, and we cannot possibly create the necessary infrastructure in such a short time. My only suggestion is to wait until Olympics get over and China begins dismantling its infrastructure, and then import the entire disbanded infrastructure — tracks and other equipment — from China. We should not even shy away from taking Chinese consultancy to salvage the preparation of our own

Commonwealth Games.

... contd.