BY MAJ GEN HARSHA KAKAR (RETD)
The initial reaction of Pakistan on the abrogation of Article 370 was disbelief and shock. They did not even know how to react. Their comments were loose cannons fired by their leaders in every direction, each missing its target. Their attempt to approach the international community failed miserably, with almost no response and support. Even those whom they considered close and were expected to oblige, turned their backs on Pak. It shocked the Pak leadership into disbelief.
Internally pressure began to mount as with one stroke the ambit of Kashmir had changed. The Pak leadership, both army and civil, began coming under pressure to act. Desperation appeared to creep in, to the extent that Imran began addressing the nation and asking for all to join in solidarity for 30 mins every Friday. He began threatening of a nuclear war in every forum. His beleaguered ministers began writing to every UN and international body raising the Kashmir bogey with fake claims, including on occasions quoting Indian opposition leadership.
While internal rambling and screaming continues, mainly to divert minds from economic hardships and suffering, on the external front it appears to be setting forth a plan to change international public opinion and adhering to it. It realized that governments and international organizations across the globe would neither listen to them, nor advice India on the same. Thus, they began targeting the public at large and changing opinion while roping in nondescript politicians to garner some face saving.
BBC press reports, released at regular intervals, contained fake and doctored videos and pictures claiming them to be of the valley. These appeared to indicate that there were violent protests and security forces were responding brutally.Most inputs had no sources but claimed to have come from the valley. The BBC also admitted that it has no reporters in the region and inputs were from independent sources. These doctored images were clearly being sent from Pak. This was challenged by Indian security experts, including General Ata Hasnain, yet they continue being published.
Al Jazeera, a Doha based channel, regularly quotes fake reports emanating from the valley. Official reports from India stating not a single loss of life due to security forces actions in Kashmir are ignored.
Pak had during the visit of Imran to Washington hired the services of a lobby firm, Holland and Knight, for enhancing representation of Islamabad in the US. The firm comprises of former members of Congress, senior administrative officials, Capitol Hill veterans and other professional experts. The first action taken by the firm was to push in two op-eds from Pak in important local newspapers in the last month.
The first was an op-ed by the Pak ambassador to the US in the Washington post and the second was supposed to have been authored by Imran, in the New York Times. Imran’s op-ed was only the second by a Pak leader in a leading US newspaper, the last being by Zardari over 11 years ago.
The lobby firm also had few pro-Pak think tanks issue statements that Indo-Pak tensions over Kashmir would impact Afghan peace talks in some manner, seeking to create doubts in US security circles.In addition, have been interviews on BBC by Qureshi, the Pak foreign minister, who claims that Pak desires talks with pre-conditions. Simultaneously Pak continues to move ahead on the Kartarpur corridor. Overall, Pak was intending to convey that while it desires peace and is open to talks, it is India which refuses to engage.
In an address to the Islamic Society of North America convention, as part of his campaign for winning the party nomination for challenging Trump, Bernie Sanders commented on Kashmir. This was being widely quoted in media channels, without much mention of where he spoke and why. After all, to gain support from mainly Pak expatriates he needed to comment on Kashmir, whether he meant it or not is a different matter. For Pak, it was support which they desperately needed.
Imran in his op-ed concentrated on the possibility of a nuclear war between India and Pak and its fallout across the globe, seeking to create fear and panic and push the US to apply pressure on India.These and other reports claiming that the valley is facing violence and its residents are being tortured are being published as a part of fake propaganda in major newspaper across the globe.
There are many journalists within India’s free press, whose hatred for the government in power, have given them an opportunity to exploit the situation and peddle fake data thus supporting those adopting an anti-India approach. This only adds to Pak’s fake propaganda machinery. The difference between the two countries is that Pak has subdued its press to the level that there is no one to criticise, while Indian press is free to comment and even propagate fake news.
Michael Kugelman, of the Wilson Centre of Washington tweets based on the intense Pak fake propaganda, ‘can hundreds of on-the-ground media international reports over the last 25 days, many of them quoting local officials in Kashmir be fake.’ This despite official denials being issued by the authorities in Kashmir. Thus, clearly the propaganda war is advantage Pakistan.
India, on the other hand, could project Pak’s own handling of either Baluchistan, Waziristan, POK, Gilgit Baltistan and the atrocious state of its minorities. It could also quote the UNSC comments on Pak’s maltreatment of minorities in multipleforums. It, on the contrary, maintains silence as it feels believesitself to be a responsible nation which does not raise the bogey of war falsely nor meddle in internal affairs of other nations.
Indian government authorities have ignored commenting on Pak based and sponsored fake propaganda across the globe. The reason is because decisions taken by India in Kashmir are within its constitution and justified. It does not need international justification. India has conveyed its official stand to the international community and the same has been accepted.
No nation has questioned Indian decisions, other than Pakistan. Even China’s comments were temporary and only to satisfy Pak, where its investments were immense.
The time is close when India needs to rethink its media strategy to counter Pak. It has the power to compel those peddling fake news, like BBC, to either stop or be banned from India. It could project its own views in multiple international publications to defend its actions, however, has chosen silence being on the moral high ground.
In an era of fake news and propaganda moulding public opinion, India may have to rethink its approach and seek to dispel Pak’s fake narrative. It cannot let the international public, swayed by Pak’s fake propaganda, begin believing India is not being just and fair.Silence as being adopted at present may not be the right approach in the long term.