Need to talk it out

Pakistan, as a civilised and peace-loving country, has reached out to India, expressing its willingness to become part of any "neutral and transparent" investigation into the Pahalgam attack. This move deserves appreciation because despite New Delhi's aggressive posturing and its conventional style of blaming Islamabad for all its ills, and that too without any iota of logic and proof, the intention on the part of Pakistan is to collectively work for uprooting terror in the region, and to unmask the culprits behind the April 22 killing of tourists in IIOJK.

It is altogether important because India's unilateral decision to put the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance and downgrade the bilateral ties had raised stakes, and pushed both the nuclear states to the brink of a war. The onus is now on India to reciprocate and come up with a modus operandi to cooperate for the sake of seeking justice for the victims of Pahalgam, and this is where its sincerity will be up for a test.

A positive response from India would also help dispel the impression that vested interests from inside might have a hand in the attack, and Delhi is not part of a plot to implicate Pakistan for serving extra-territorial designs. Likewise. Pakistan's decision to be part of any probe has squarely addressed international concerns related to broader regional security.

The aftermath of Pahalgam terror has seen some unprecedented state-centric rejoinders that could go a long way in fomenting bad blood between the two neighbours. Obstructing the flow of water into Pakistan is not only a highly contested decision in legal realms, but also condemnable from a human perspective. Not too desirable are the knee-jerk moves by Pakistan to suspend diplomatic activities, closure of airspace and the threat to put Simla Accord in abeyance.

India and Pakistan must look at the broader perspective of coexistence, and as stated by President Trump should "figure out" their own issues. The standoff is an opportunity to buoy bilateralism rather than scuttling it. The two sides must talk it out as responsible sovereign entities. The ball is in India's court to reciprocate and get going.