Imran, the leader

This refers to the editorial ‘Imran’s Pakistan’ (July 27). In Pakistan, the democratically elected governments in the past were not allowed to rule the country at their freewill but under the shadow of the military. In this backdrop, Imran Khan, in the lead to be the next Prime Minister of Pakistan, has an array of hectic tasks to be executed with due care — be it engaging India again to peace-dialogue, repairing the stained relationship with the US, rescuing the nation from financial crisis, or making Pakistan Taliban-free.

The moment he expedites any move that would pave way for cordial relationship with India against the will of the Pakistan army, he will certainly be dethroned. The people of Pakistan have voted for Imran Khan hoping he would do what his predecessor failed to do — elevating and projecting the image of Pakistan positively at the international level. Bifurcating the role of military and government and, thereby, limiting the interference and dominance of the military in government functioning is key to maintaining political stability and ensuring prosperity in Pakistan. For Khan, success lies in delivering on his poll-promise ‘Naya Pakistan’ — every Pakistani is longing for. Though not an easy task, it would prove what sort of a leader he is.

Cuddalore, TN

Twenty-two years after he first plunged into politics, Pakistan’s most famous and successful cricket captain, Imran Khan, is all set to become the prime minister of the troubled nation, albeit with a huge helping hand from the omniscient military. However, there is a disappointment for Imran Khan. He purportedly wanted among his inner circle the party of the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai massacre, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. But Saeed's Allah-o-Akbar party fared poorly. Hundreds of individuals linked with hardline and banned groups were contesting the election but none of them won a seat in the national or provincial assemblies. The Pakistan army’s hope, therefore, of “mainstreaming” the militants has been dashed. While it is too early to say what kind of administrator Imran Khan will turn out to be for the troubled Pakistan, let’s hope his promise to make a new beginning will be tested in Kashmir if he can prevail on the ISI to stop the export of terror to the Valley.

Hyderabad

Faced with a mounting non-performing loans owing to a variety of reasons and resulting in depleting profitability, the health of public sector banks (PSB) have indeed been a matter of concern for quite sometime now. They together control about 70 per cent of the assets in the banking system and are the backbone of Indian economy and hence it is necessary to restore soon their good health. There are now talks reportedly going on about the mergers in the public sector banking space. Merger will hold well as long as there are synergy and economies of scale persisting.

Even the merger of a weak entity with a strong bank has to be such that the merged entity should be able to absorb the shock within a reasonable period of time and further that it is able to capitalise on the new strength acquired and reap the benefits in the medium to long term. Merger is the not the only panacea for removing the economic ills of the PSBs.

Nagpur

The editorial ‘Reforming education’ (July 26) is an eye-opener. The notable performance of China’s higher education institutions and students is a wake-up call. We believed that our superior English language skills place us comfortably ahead of China, but that seems no more the case.

In addition to the valid suggestions in the edit, we must find ways to attract more talented and committed faculty into our educational institutions. Unlike the West which attracts persons like Raghuram Rajan to academics, in India, teaching is perhaps the least preferred occupation of the talented. Whether because of poor pay, lack of a stimulating workplace, or for any other reason, it must be identified and addressed if our institutions and students are to make a mark on the global scene.

Pune

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