Region 
 

Region

Digital Attack

The EU DisinfoLab has uncovered a massive operation called “Indian Chronicles,”
which has resurrected dead media, think-tanks and NGOs. It even resurrected dead
people. The network is active in Brussels and Geneva to undermine Pakistan.

By Mubeen Ashraf | January 2021

fake media

In contemporary geostrategic and geo-economic contestations, Pakistan remains a country of utmost significance. In this regard, the sources of security and insecurity pivot around Pakistan’s strategic and economic pertinence. The country is surrounded by some tricky and volatile neighbours, especially India and Afghanistan. There is a constant effort to convert the country's geostrategic significance to a geostrategic challenge through its advanced hybrid warfare capabilities. However, the frequent adaptation of hybrid technologies and techniques in warfare is challenging the traditional military institutions and state structures. A similar situation is experienced within Pakistan as it is facing massive confrontations in conventional and sub/non-conventional realms.

In the age of bits, codes, and ideas, hybrid warfare is posing serious challenges to Pakistan in various capacities. The recent revelation about India’s intention to malign Pakistan’s reputation in the international community was disclosed in an elaborative report issued by the EU DisinfoLab (a non-profit organization). In the December 2020 report, several defunct think-tanks, NGOs and around 750 fake media outlets in 116 countries were unveiled which were running a pro-Indian disinformation campaign for the past 15 years. A shocking disclosure about the Indian leaks occurred when the identity of a dead professor who died in 2006 was stolen to further the nefarious agenda. Furthermore, the group associated with the highly sophisticated disinformation campaign was said to be the Srivastava Group (SG) which strong ties with Asian News International (ANI) –I ndia’s largest wire service.

The same group that unleashed India’s wicked agenda in 2020 also warned the world in a similar report released in 2019. The group analyzed the working of 265 sites operating in 65 countries to influence decision-making in the European Union and the United Nations. Since the campaign has been running for a longer period, a trip of 23 European MEPs in 2013 to Kashmir revealed the same purpose. There is no surprise in India’s efforts to destabilize, demoralize and disintegrate Pakistan.
ANI
The promotion of Mukti Bahini’s 6 point agenda and anti-Pakistan sentiments in 1971 is an earlier example of influencing the decision-making of entities against Pakistan. Moreover, the use of social media to spread negative propaganda against Pakistan and its armed forces is evident in numerous incidents. The manipulation by Indian mediapost - Pulwama incident, supporting Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), inciting hateful sentiments in Gilgit-Baltistan and providing funds and arms to Balochistan and publishing articles against Pakistan through RAW outlets are a few examples of this decade-long despicable agenda.

The chargesheet for India’s fraudulent activities against Pakistan is even longer. As mentioned in the report, several dubious NGOs and think tanks were launched and were officially provided the floor at the UN on behalf of the Human Rights Council which was tasked to lobby against Pakistan by highlighting fabricated incidents of human rights violation. Moreover, an effort to subvert Pakistan through Indian paid agents across the world focusing to divert the world’s attention from PM Narendra Modi’s crimes against humanity in Indian Occupied Kashmir, is also one of the objective. However, it is deduced that India’s aspirations to scandalize its rival states is the aftermath of the rising influence of conservative and nationalistic ideology. This ideology originates from Hindutva-based, centralized and fanatical Hinduism also known as neo-Hinduism. The organizations that promote such a philosophy include Sangh Parivar, encompassing the dominant Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that holds an outsized influence on national policymaking in India.

In the foreseeable future, a recession in India’s anti-Pakistan obsession is not likely, especially in the existing RSS-dominated BJP leadership. Moreover, another significant interpretation in the wake of Indian Chronicles is the covert and overt operations of business groups functioning for a considerable period undetected. The Srivastava Group as disclosed in the EU Disinfo Lab report is an extensively discredited business group whose actual line of business is extremely hard to decipher. If such a company evades detection from leading intelligence agencies, it can be partially understood but the ANI hiding in plain sight depicts the sophistication of the whole campaign and the negligence by the concerned authorities.

In short, carefully designed complex hybrid campaigns from a nuclear-armed state against another nuclear power could pose serious challenges to not only the security and stability of two states but for the South Asian region as a whole. Moreover, knowledgeable observers in Pakistan who tend to ignore the intensity and long-term implications of such a high-level disinformation campaign designed against them, must take notice before it is too late. There is a possibility of a nuclear outcome in the wake of a sophisticated cyber or hybrid threat if one’s sovereignty or national interests are at stake. Moreover, unpreparedness from Pakistan’s side could further aggravate the situation by giving more space to the adversary to fulfill its abhorrent objectives. It is highly recommended for both countries to engage in productive dialogue, work on confidence-building measures (CBMs), and sign agreements to restrict unusual and unwanted circumstances in the future. Also, in the light of such an offence, the perpetrator must be punished and held accountable according to international law without any biases involved.

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