Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani's resignation as party president has sparked off a guessing game in the Pakistan media over his motives, with some saying that it was meant to widen his support base.

Most leading Pakistani newspapers Thursday carried editorials trying to decode Advani's laudatory comments on Mohammed Ali Jinnah during his weeklong visit to the country and his subsequent resignation.

In an editorial headlined "Advani's new clothes", The News said: "His remarks have certainly given him a new look among the Pakistani people, who otherwise would reject him as a hardcore radical with nothing good to contribute to peace."

It interpreted Advani's statement calling the Pakistan founder "secular" as part of his drive to create new constituencies to serve his prime ministerial ambitions.

"Advani, shrewd and astute as he is, appears to be more responsive to the emerging environment in the region and also to the public mood in India that is supportive of peace and coexistence with Pakistan."

"He appears to be ready to capitalise on the moderate and liberal elements within his party as well as outside. Perhaps he is looking forward to creating new constituencies," the editorial elaborated.

"What his hardliner partners cannot read now is something Advani has foreseen - there is no place for radical politics in the changing global geo-political scenario."

The Daily Times, in its editorial entitled "Mr Advani's masterful hand", saw in Advani's remarks his desire to acquire an Atal Bihari Vajpayee-like liberal appeal as a potential prime minister-in-waiting.

"It now appears from Advani's statements in Pakistan that he is trying to acquire the same image and stature as Vajpayee. So he has started by placating Pakistanis on some of the more emotive issues," said the editorial. 

"He talked about the Babri Masjid and offered a mea culpa of sorts; he spoke of India-Pakistan peace and the need to resolve Kashmir; he went to the Quaid's mazar and called him a secularist. In doing all this, Advani came across as a seasoned and mature politician," said the Daily Times. 

Calling it a "masterstroke", the editorial posed the all-important question:
"Will the BJP wag its Parivar tail or will the tail, the Parivar that is, wag the BJP?"

"Advani's gamble is likely to work. If he returns, he will be more entrenched than he was before. He will also have unshackled himself from the Parivar. In such a situation, he will be the winner all round."

In an editorial, The Dawn saw in Advani's remarks a provocation for a radical reappraisal of religion-based politics in the subcontinent. The controversy   "managed to bring into sharp focus the dilemma of religio-political parties in today's rapidly globalising, and inevitably secularising, world."

"The politics of extremism and of exploiting religious sentiments for political purposes may become irrelevant even in limited, regional contexts."

In an attempt to place Advani's resignation in the wider context, the Dawn editorial adopted a soul-searching note. "This is not only an Indian or a BJP problem. Pakistan too faces similar issues, perhaps in an acuter form because our constitution specifically provides for a state based on religion and is thus a durable point of reference for religious parties," it said.

The editorial advised parties to stop extracting mileage out of religious politics. "Otherwise, we can easily become an anachronism in a world changing around us."