By Asghar Ali Mubarak
Islamabad: The Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) has claimed that its data analysis of social media shows an uptick in online Indian propaganda since the 2018 elections in Pakistan, with China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Chairman Lieutenant General (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa having been their primary target for the last few months.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the institute purported that the purpose of India’s propaganda tactics has been to cause civil unrest in the country and that it has been doing so since 2018, but added that since August 2020, the primary target has been General Bajwa in an attempt to sabotage CPEC.
The IPRI asserted that Indian propaganda comprises of 4 key elements; namely, the campaign against Pakistan Army, the stroking of civil unrest in Pakistan, the propaganda on Kashmir and the sabotaging of CPEC.
According to the information shared by IPRI, some of the tactics employed by the propaganda machine have been claims of a civil war in Karachi, creating issues in the Afghan peace process, the spreading of fake news vis-a-vis the Balakot airstrike, Indian newspaper articles on the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT) bills, media campaigns against Prime Minster Imran Khan, as well as attempts to isolate Pakistan internationally.
