Kashmir issue; Pakistan continues to resort to false propaganda- Report

Despite the truth and reality on the issue of Kashmir, Pakistan has a bad habit of coming up with various misinformation and conspiracy theories to discredit India as a part of its false propaganda.

Keeping up with this false narrative, Pakistan each year celebrates February 5 as ‘Kashmir Day’ and October 27 as ‘Kahmir Black Day’ in order to show the world that they are the victims. However, the world knows how Indian forces in 1947 saved the innocent people of the region from the unauthorized invasion of Pakistani forces.

Occasionally, at international fora, Pakistani representatives keep highlighting the Kashmir issue with the intention of possibly seeking sympathy. More often, these comments are unwarranted and have no basis or even relevance to the forum where they speak.

Especially at UN General Assembly meetings where UN Security Council reforms are being discussed, the representatives of Pakistan usually make unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir.

Thereby, Pakistan desperately attempts to peddle falsehoods and a bad habit of abusing the sanctity of multilateral forums.

On January 26, an Indian representative at UN Ravindra Raguttahalli said Both Jammu and Kashmir are an integral and inalienable part of India regardless of what Pakistan believes or covets.

Such desperate and deliberate attempts to peddle falsehoods and the habit of abusing the sanctity of multilateral forums deserve collective contempt and perhaps sympathy, he added.

Raguttahalli said representative, inclusive and resilient governance structures will help stabilize States, safeguard fundamental rights and protect the rule of law.

Meanwhile, many people have observed how spreading false propaganda has become the core of Pakistan’s information warfare.

After getting hammered by India in multiple battles, Pakistan understands that it simply can’t defeat India. So it formulated another tactic to harm India; that is, if you can’t defeat them, then defame them. This is done by following the principles of “Goebbelsian propaganda.”

Pakistan keeps on concocting conspiracy theories against India in an attempt to harm India’s global image despite getting debunked on several occasions at international forums.

Pakistan is obsessed with its so-called Kashmir cause and Pakistan’s disinformation campaign against India has always been the central pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

A classic example of Pakistan’s fake narrative on Kashmir is the so-called Kashmir Black Day. This is a well-coordinated push to tamper with the truth and hide its own crimes of the past. For those who are not aware of the history, India celebrates October 27 as “Infantry Day”. On this day, Indian armed forces entered Kashmir and pushed back a Pakistan-backed tribal army that raided independent Kashmir.

On October 22, 1947, the Pakistan army launched “Operation Gulmarg” under the supervision of Maj. Gen. Akbar Khan to capture Srinagar. They burned, looted, and raped with no regard and the utmost impunity.

Looking at the devastation and fearing a coup, Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession to India on October 26, 1947. The Indian armed forces were airlifted to the Kashmir Valley the next day and saved Kashmir.

To commemorate the victory of the armed forces in safeguarding Kashmir, India celebrates Infantry Day on October 27. Pakistan, on the other hand, to hide its defeat and its human rights violations in Kashmir, observes October 27 as Black Day. The reason behind Black Day is to peddle a fake narrative that on October 27th, India occupied Kashmir.

In reality, Kashmir legally merged into India after signing an instrument of accession that was signed by all other princely states. Recently, Pakistan released a toolkit to further its narrative of Kashmir under Indian occupation. This toolkit specifically talks about hast-tags, flyers, one-pagers, posters, and banners to be used to defame India. This propaganda will be peddled by thousands of fake bots and Pakistan’s prominent accounts. Pakistan has embarrassed itself on multiple occasions for presenting fake doctored pictures of Kashmiri victims of Indian atrocities.

There has also been a suggestion to rethink Pakistan’s approach towards India and focus more on geo-economics. Shahzad Chaudhry, a prominent strategic commentator, in an opinion piece published in Express Tribune praised India’s foreign policy for managing to balance ties between the US and Russia, in the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis. While praising India for having been able to strike a balance he dubbed this as a diplomatic coup. Chaudhry also said that Pakistan should rethink its foreign policy vis-à-vis India and focus on ‘geo-economics’.

Pakistan PM, Shehbaz Sharif in an interview with Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV had himself stated that Pakistan could not afford another war with India and had also alluded to his willingness to resume talks.

In November last year, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Pratik Mathur reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remain an integral and inalienable part of India irrespective of what Pakistan believes.

"A representative of Pakistan has yet again made unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan's desperate attempts to peddle falsehoods and a bad habit of abusing the sanctity of multilateral forums deserves collective contempt and perhaps sympathies as well," he said.