On 22nd April 2025, an unfortunate incident took place in Pahalgam that caused the death of 26 civilians. India, without any evidence, blamed Pakistan for the incident and launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, targeting civilian infrastructure, killing several including women and children. In response, Pakistan retaliated with Operation Bunyanun Marsoos, through conventional military capabilities. It brought down 6 Indian fighter jets. The situation escalated between two nuclear-armed states, bringing them to the edge of an all-out war. However, with the mediation of the United States, on May 10, both states reached a ceasefire agreement. Soon after, Indian media initiated a disinformation campaign, blaming Pakistan without any investigation or evidence to tarnish Pakistan’s image internationally and calling Pakistan a terrorist state.
Indian media campaign reminds us of the framing theory, where a narrative is concocted to belie the facts it impacts or influences how the audience construes a set of events. This idea was developed by sociologist Erving Goffman and later on further developed by communication scholars. Framing theory suggests that the way information is framed or showcased has an impact on the viewers and influences how the viewers respond to it. During the Operation Sindoor and incidents like the Balakot airstrike in 2019, India launched disinformation campaigns against Pakistan. In this context, framing theory plays an important role in deciphering it. Pakistan was framed as the centre of terrorism by Indian media. without any authentic evidence. Using terminology like terror state repeatedly, showing selective imagery and using sentimental language, it framed Pakistan as the antagonist and India as a victim of terrorism. This sort of framing helps India to influence public opinion within the state and internationally. More recently, India used disinformation campaign to influence the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) against Pakistan, even though unsuccessfully India has rendered disinformation campaigns not only on social media but also publicly. On July 18, 2021, at a virtual training event for leaders of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar admitted to his leaders that “Due to us, Pakistan is under the lens of FATF and it was kept in the grey list.”
India has often initiated disinformation and libel campaigns against Pakistan. For example, in 2019, following the Pulwama attack in which Indian military personnel were killed, India, through disinformation campaigns without any evidence and blamed Pakistan. It then carried out an air strike in Balakot and claimed that it targeted and destroyed a terrorist training facility. This was all a planned propaganda against Pakistan, although eyewitness accounts and satellite imagery challenged India’s allegation. There was only limited damage, including a few trees and a building. Pakistan responded with operational and strategic patience and handled the situation very well by arresting and then releasing the Indian pilot Abhinandan.
Again, in April 2025, New Delhi soon after the Pahalgam incident launched a malicious disinformation campaign against Pakistan, claiming that Pakistan was behind cross-border terrorism. For instance, India mentioned that one of their colonels was killed in the Pahalgam attack by terrorists sponsored by Pakistan. However, a video later went viral in which the same person turned up to alive and was not associated with the military. Secondly, India was running fake news on their media channels that their military targeted Karachi port and 15 other locations in Karachi, which later was found to be a baseless propaganda. After getting exposed by Pakistani media, Indian media channel AAJ TAK apologised for the fake propaganda against Pakistan; the baseless and fake report they showed was provided by their government. India’s famous YouTuber Dhruv Rathee advised the public not to watch Indian media as their mainstream media is portraying 90% fake news.
To efficiently combat disinformation campaigns in future Pakistan must take effective measures. Firstly, Pakistan needs to adopt a comprehensive and planned policy approach that integrates proactive strategic communication. One of the major steps should be the formation of a centralized national counter-disinformation task force that, along with government entities including ISPR, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and FIA’s cyber crime wing. It should be provided with modern data analytics and digital tools to analyse, detect and combat disinformation campaigns and timely respond to fake narratives.
Secondly, Pakistan needs to enhance its strategic communication capabilities to secure a credible and determined national narrative. The government needs to organize training programs for government officials, diplomats and spokespersons in the field of media engagement, digital diplomacy and psychological operations. The trained professionals should be assigned across digital media and traditional media platforms to promote Pakistan’s perspective. Pakistan’s embassies and consulates should play an active role in global public diplomacy, particularly in states where Indian disinformation campaigns are rapidly shaping perceptions against Pakistan.
Lastly, Pakistan needs to collaborate with social media platforms like X, YouTube and Facebook which are important to report and remove content that circulates fake news about Pakistan. Official channels of Pakistan should establish a partnership with these social media applications to take timely action against disinformation. Pakistan also needs to improve its domestic media literacy by integrating digital education into educational institutions and initiating national awareness campaigns against fake news.
Disinformation campaigns of India, mainly during incidents like Operation Sindoor and the Pulwama attack and the forged Karachi port strike showcase a consistent pattern of utilizing media manipulation to damage the image of Pakistan internationally. Pakistan should adopt a strategic and coordinated approach focused on institutional collaboration, proactive communication and international engagement to counter such threats. It should set up a national counter-disinformation task force, training officials in digital diplomacy, amplifying strategic media capabilities and cultivating cooperation with primary social media applications are essential steps. Additionally, advocating digital literacy within the country will strengthen citizens to acutely analyse information and combat manipulation. Countering disinformation is an challenging task; it is a national security imperative that requires global advocacy and prolonged policy commitment. Within the view of the poor diplomatic support elicited by India during this crisis, the campaign has been ineffective and bogus. DG ISPR and the Pakistani media played an extremely responsible role and provided reliable source of information in the wake of the ongoing conflict. It aptly highlighted Pakistan’s credibility and commitment towards peace and kept the warmongers in check. Avoiding sensationalism and misinformation had a positive effect on the morale of the nation as well.
Ms Zahra Sadiq is Media Assistant at the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), Islamabad.
