New Delhi, April 28 -- It's a matter of deep dismay that Pakistan's power establishment has amped up its rhetoric on not just the hollow "two-nation theory" but also on an equally flaky analogy of governance from the early days of Islamic history. This was evident in a speech by its army chief Asim Munir shortly before the terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

While India contemplates retaliatory action, with the Indus Waters Treaty already held in abeyance as a sort of Damocles guillotine over Pakistan's future water supply, the dynamics of the two neighbours' testy relationship inspire little hope that high-profile punitive measures alone will be able to make Islamabad abandon its delusions of religious purpose.

To make headway, we need...