Pak crackdown on terror outfits

It is heartening to see that Pakistan has launched a purported crackdown on banned militant outfits, in less than three weeks after the Pulwama attack. Though it is too early to say that the winds of change have started blowing from across the border, an unmistakable ray of hope has emerged. Pakistan announced that it would send a delegation to India on March 14 to discuss a draft agreement for setting up the Kartarpur corridor.

This will be followed by the return visit of the Indian team to Islamabad on March 28. With barely eight months to go for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, this diplomatic breakthrough could help in easing bilateral tensions. In another apparent confidence-building measure, Pakistan Punjab's provincial government, acting on the directions of PM Imran Khan, dismissed its Information and Culture Minister, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, after the latter's anti-Hindu remarks caused a furore.

The prompt action reflects Pakistan's eagerness to demonstrate a zero-tolerance approach to intolerance. Having adopted a multi-pronged strategy to mollify the international community, the onus is now on the powers that be to show that this won't turn out to be yet another false dawn.

 - Smita Tiwari, Visakhapatnam