NEW DELHI (AFP) — Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf is a "power hungry general" who looks weaker than ever after sending former premier Nawaz Sharif back into exile, Indian media said Tuesday.
India has been watching with consternation the Islamist violence and political turmoil engulfing nuclear rival Pakistan and the government expressed hope Monday its neighbour would remain "peaceful, prosperous and stable".
"The Pakistan military ruler has exposed himself as a power hungry general trying to extend his stay in power by any means," said The Hindu.
Sharif's expulsion to Saudi Arabia just hours after he arrived vowing to ignite a popular campaign to oust Musharraf was front-page news in all Indian dailies.
"Musharraf scuppers Sharif return," said The Statesman.
The move defied Pakistan's increasingly independent Supreme Court, which has been sparring with the president and last month ordered the government not to block the homecoming.
Musharraf, facing the worst crisis since he seized power in 1999, is seeking to be elected for a new five-year term as president in a few weeks.
"The surest sign of a fading dictatorship is self-delusion," said the Indian Express. "Musharraf has confirmed the desperation to hang on to power has overwhelmed his political judgement."
In a dramatic showdown at Islamabad airport, the 57-year-old Sharif flew in from seven years abroad and was arrested on corruption charges before being dispatched to Saudi Arabia.
That warded off an immediate threat to the embattled Musharraf, but Indian media agreed Sharif had emerged stronger politically from his expulsion.
"Sharif, who did not distinguish himself as a prime minister in the 1990s, now looks larger than life for daring to come back to Pakistan and will greatly benefit from seething popular resentment against army rule," said the Express.
The Times of India said Musharraf might be tempted to resort to martial law but warned it would be a "disastrous choice" that could lead to civil war.
India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan has little leverage with Islamabad but it can alert the world to the dangers of a civil insurrection in Pakistan, the best-selling daily said.
"Those who have leverage on Musharraf -- the US in particular -- must influence him to adopt a moderate course," it said.
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