Why blame Pakistan for what has been happening in India? If one is naive and docile enough as not to check and throw out the intruders, one should be prepared to be plundered and humiliated. Pakistani polity may be fanatic, why should we allow such elements to disturb our civilised living. The rule of effective communication is: use the language your listener understands.

VED GULIANI, Hisar

A super power: I am a class 12 student and reading editorials is one of my hobbies. You have shown the real picture of the Kashmir issue. The interest taken by the USA and the European Union in the proposed talks indicates that India is now seen as a super power by the world. The initiative of the Vajpayee government on ceasefire was an important step towards the peace process.

DEEP KARAN SINGH DALAL, Chandigarh

Musharraf's ifs and buts: The Pakistani establishment has undergone no change of heart. General Musharraf is visiting New Delhi because of his compulsions — both internal and external.

Pakistan is a highly fragmented society. A major ethnic revolt is brewing in Sind, Baluchistan and northern territories. The economy is crumbling. The below poverty line population has doubled between 1987 and 2000. Fundamentalist mullahs and the Punjabi-dominated Army are baying for the blood of Musharraf. Pak's godfather — the USA — has turned its back to the Talibanised Pakistan. So the General is coming albeit with "Kashmir is the core issue" siren song on his lips.

S. S. JAIN, Chandigarh

Grab-Kashmir policy: Mr Hari Jaisingh has rightly mentioned a number of reasons which could not put Indo-Pakistan relations on an even keel during the last 50 years or so. These have been Pakistan's birth amidst communal bloodshed, Pakistan's efforts to grab Kashmir by any means, the domination of the armed forces in Pakistan, the nativity or docility of the Indian leaders and their failure to strike tough postures and the failure of the Indian leaders to apprise themselves of the ground realities.

General Musharraf does not feel the heart-beat of the citizens. His only preoccupation has been to get some shine for his regime.

HANS RAJ JAIN, Moga

Poor track record: The Tashkent declaration, the Simla accord and the Lahore declaration were never implemented by the rulers in Pakistan. They have been talking with India for the sake of talks only.

If the track record of the Pakistan rulers is any indication, the coming talks between Mr Vajpayee and General Pervez Musharraf would end inconclusively.

D. P. JINDAL, Mandi Gobindgarh

A no-win situation: Call me sceptic, but to me the invitation to the "Butcher of Kargil" appears ill-conceived. It's a no-win situation for India the way New Delhi is playing its cards, apparently sans any strategy. For the General it’s a win-win situation. If he returns home and fails to show a worthy enough return gift, he gets to strike a point against India. God forbid, if we gift him what he asks for, then he returns home to a hero's welcome.

VIVEK KHANNA, Panchkula

Prisoners of war: India had held over 90,000 personnel of the Pakistan's army as prisoners of war after the 1971 war. All of them were released. It is reported that many Indians have been lauguishing in Pakistani prisons for long. It would be a great humanitarian gesture from Islamabad if during the coming Indo-Pak talks these Indians' release is ensured.

IQBAL SINGH, Bijhari, (Hamirpur)

A blunder: We should bluntly tell Pakistan that J&K legally became an inseparable part of India in 1947. India's Muslim population is more than the entire population of Pakistan, and so it is justified in keeping the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir. Pakistan, being an Islamic country, has no justification in keeping the Hindu majority region of Thar or Tharparkar district in Sind. Lal Bahadur Shastri made a blunder by returning the Hindu majority district to Pakistan after the 1965 war.

ANAND PRAKASH, Panchkula

Live peacefully: I fail to understand why cordial relations cannot be established. Why people get murdered on the border unnecessarily and why the hate campaign against India is the top priority of Pakistan. Just switch on Pak TV and the viewer will find that Pak TV catches every opportunity to malign India.

UJAGAR SINGH, Chandigarh

Hate-India campaign: Pakistan should not misconstrue Mr Vajpayee's dialogue as an opportunity to work out another Kargil-type misadventure. Peace requires mutual understanding, trust and a give-and-take attitude. Barbaric and fanatical acts can only aggravate the situation. So General Musharraf will have to stop the hate India campaign.

TARSEM S. BUMRAH, Batala

The same mistake: Since humanity is deeply rooted in the Hindu psyche, Nehru, Indira Gandhi and even Lal Bahadur Shastri committed the same mistake which Prithvi Raj Chouhan committed and what a heavy price we are paying for their softness of heart as a nation.

K. L. JAITLY, Dhara (Kullu)

Security lapses: This refers to Mr Hari Jaisingh's article "Wages of weak leaders, soft options" (June 1). Persons at the helm of affairs adopt casual attitude in dealing with delicate and sensitive areas concerning security matters. Political leaders and bureaucrats have played havoc with the system and even defence has not been spared. Amateur politicians are in the habit of poking their nose in fields which actually belong to professionals who have expertise and grit. The result has been very disastrous and is before everyone to see.

K. L. BATRA, Yamunanagar

A couple: The chemistry of Indo-Pakistan relations can be best summed up in the following couplet:

Dil saaf ho kaise ke insaf nahin

Insaf ho kaise ki dil saaf nahin.

K.J.S. AHLUWALIA, Amritsar

Dalhousie Master Plan Frustration of an MLA has been well depicted by your correspondent in the report "Govt directives being flouted" (May 29), who was making baseless accusations against officials of the IPH and the HPSEB without quoting even an iota of evidence. How conveniently she has forgotten that when she got issued illegal and dictatorial orders by the minister in 1993, poor Mr Khachi had to cut an extremely sorry figure as the orders would not stand the test of the law and were quashed. She has also ignored the fact that in 1994 land use was freezed in Dalhousie for three years which ended in 1997, but for the reasons best known to her she could not get the Master Plan of Dalhousie and if I am not very wrong the civic body in Dalhousie has still not received the Master Plan. I had made a request to the Town and Country Planning Department to make adequate space allocation for parking of vehicles keeping in view tourist rush, particularly from May to July. The department should expedite the making of the Master Plan for Dalhousie. Whether a construction is unauthorised or not is the prerogative of the civic body. The Congress during its rule of about half a century could not make any bye-laws and bye-laws made in 1933 were easily converted into "buy laws". V V. MEHRA, Dalhousie