• This refers to the editorial ‘In Pakistan interest’. India should stop asking Pakistan to act in either its own or our interest. The Pakistani government cannot comply with our demands as it is not strong enough to take on the army, the ISI and the fundamentalists. It would rather collaborate with these players to ensure its survival. Eventually, Pakistan’s Machiavellian strategy and the Frankenstein it has created will boomerang on itself. In fact, Pakistan has been paying for its sins for quite some time now. India should wait a while longer and then get Pakistan to do all that it wants. Meanwhile, it will be worth more to upgrade our security apparatus and intelligence gathering. On our soil at least we can stop, catch and punish trans-national terrorists.

— Satwant Kaur

Mahilpur

• Pakistan is not likely to listen to your sound advice to redeem itself. Pakistan knows realpolitik. It cares about the consequences of its actions, not the correctness the same. As long as the United States needs it as an ally vis-à-vis Afghansitan, Pakistan knows it can ignore Indian calls for action on the Mumbai attack and the dent in its global credibility. India may enjoy the confidence of the international community, but it will offer nothing more than its words. It is time we beefed up our internal security as our only option.

—Y.G. Chouksey

Pune

Building bridges

• It is obvious that neither the Congress nor the BJP will have a majority of its own to form the next Union government. The country will certainly be governed by a coalition and the recent assembly elections have changed the political scene to some extent. In coalition politics, it takes no time for friends to turn into foes and vice versa. The two major national parties must find allies who will not leave them in the lurch when they smell opportunity or danger. The Congress should keep in mind the UPA’s erstwhile alliance with the Left. The BJP, of course, has much more to do. Part of its problem in finding allies is its brand image — the first party to successfully run a Central coalition, the BJP seems to have stumbled after Vajpayee’s exit. The present NDA is a ghost of its former self. Ironically, the Congress, which didn’t know how to lead and keep a coalition, seems better positioned after having led the UPA.

... contd.