Disinformation in Indian media and political opportunism

There have been a host of stories in Indian media that blame Pakistan for India’s woes as obsession with Pakistan and China shows no bounds and virtually everything bad in the country is linked with the two neighbours. For example, Vineet Agarwal Sharda, a BJP leader, has claimed that Pakistan and China should be blamed for the high levels of pollution in the Indian capital region and adjacent areas. He alleged either of the two neighbouring countries could have released poisonous gases into India. “I feel Pakistan or China is afraid of us and we must seriously consider whether Pakistan has released any poisonous gas.”

Sharda also slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for putting the blame on stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana for the hazardous air condition in Delhi. Farmers, industries should not be blamed for Delhi’s condition, he said.

As it is, New Delhi faces emergency levels of smog every year and if it goes on, the life expectancy of people of the city could be cut by 17 years as they are breathing about 25 times more toxic air than the permissible limit according to the WHO guidelines. The area northwest of Delhi shows high amount of stubble burning by Indian farmers and cold air traps pollutants but still Pakistan gets blamed. Pakistan is also impacted. According to reports, 22 of the world's most polluted 30 cities are in India. The remaining eight cities are all in Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. Lijan Zhao, Deputy Director General, Information Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China, who has previously served in the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, in a tweet equated the BJP leader with a joker. It is even astoundingly hilarious that such bigoted claims are accepted by Indian public.

If that was not enough, the Indian media started claiming two Indian soldiers from Pokhran had been taken into custody from the Jodhpur railway station on charges of sharing crucial information with a Pakistan-based woman agent. Credible sources dismissed the news as hoax in an attempt to prove to world that Pakistan is interfering with Indian interests and later on will launch terrorists on received information. On the other hand, this news established the fact that Pakistan has the capacity to reach deeper layers of Indian civil and military domains to obtain any information. Islamabad has done it in the past and could do it in future too.

Then retired Indian lieutenant general Harcharanjit Singh Panag, a commentator on strategic affairs, wrote in his article that the Indian Army in a recent advisory had asked its personnel to be wary of spiritual gurus and ‘babas’ on social media who can be Pakistani intelligence operatives using fake profiles. He said: “Social media has added a new dimension to espionage. And, it is only a matter of time before enemy agents on social media have access to spyware like Pegasus that opens the door to sensitive information. The army has even advised its officers holding critical posts to deactivate their Facebook accounts and not use WhatsApp for official communication. Every year, 50,000 young people, between 17 and 21 years of age, join the army. Most of them are computer-literate and possibly armed with smartphones – and each one can be a target for a Pakistani operative on social media. In the last decade, there have been numerous cases of military personnel, including officers, being trapped by enemy agents on social media through traditional motivators.”

On the other hand, a European NGO (EU Disinfo.lab) has recently unearthed a network of fake news being run from New Delhi. Working in 65 countries with a network of 265 fake news sites managed by an Indian influence network to influence the EU and UN by criticising Pakistan reflects that India is waging a cyber-war against Pakistan and not vice versa.

Political opportunism, fake news, irrelevant reports, poor assessments, cyber warfare and amateurish disinformation remain the hallmark of attempts to malign Pakistan.