Pakistan and India have spent nearly eight decades proving how different they are. Yet underneath the politics lies an older truth: both countries emerged from the same geographical and civilisational space. Partition gave that space two states, not two unrelated histories. Our languages still lean into one another. Our food carries the same aromas. Our music recognises itself across the border. Even our quarrels have the intimacy of a family argument that has gone on for too long.

The Indus belongs to this shared geography. It travels through mountains and valleys that existed long before either countries appeared on a map. It nourishes fields without asking which anthem is played nearby. That is why India's decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty "in abeyance" after the Pahalgam attack was so reckless. New Delhi tied the future of a water agreement to its allegation that Pakistan supported cross-border terrorism. In doing so, it turned a river system sustaining millions into an instrument of political pressure.

The attack at Pahalgam was horrifying. Twenty-six lives were lost. But accusation cannot become judgment merely because it is repeated loudly. Pakistan denied involvement and proposed an independent and credible international investigation. India chose military action instead.

India pronounced the verdict before producing evidence acceptable to anyone outside its own official........

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