NEW YORK: Pakistan has deplored the use of disinformation by occupying States to suppress the people’s voices in Kashmir and Palestine, underscoring the need for stepped up efforts to combat that pervasive threat.
“The harmful impact of fake news and disinformation is magnified when states employ these tactics in situations of foreign occupation to suppress the voices of people, denied basic freedoms, including the UN-sanctioned right to self-determination,” Pakistani delegate Amanat Ali told the UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee, which deals with special political and decolonization matters.
Speaking in a debate on ‘Questions Relating to Information’, he said that Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Occupied Palestinian Territory “are a case in point.”
“Central to this manipulation are internet blackouts, censorship, and restrictive media laws enforced by occupying authorities,” Amanat Ali, press counsellor at the Pakistan Mission to he UN, the Pakistani delegate said, adding, “These actions are intended to delegitimize freedom movements and create an environment of fear, intimidation, and violence.”
Noting that fake news and misinformation undermine trust in the United Nations, especially in the context of rising geopolitical tensions, ongoing genocidal war in Gaza and climate threats, he called for a “sustained communications campaign” by the Department of Global Communications (GDC), in collaboration with Member States, to highlight the UN’s achievements and contributions.
Highlighting the need for collaboration with tech companies, like Facebook and Google, the Pakistani delegate warned that their “profit motives” might conflict with the cooperation needed to curb disinformation. Therefore, he suggested that the Global Principles for Information Integrity should address the role of individuals in spreading misinformation, as well as “empowering users through media literacy”.
Referring to the growing use of digital media platforms to target minority communities , Amanat Ali said that such practices severely undermine the political freedoms and human rights of these populations. “We must take strong, coordinated action to combat Islamophobia, along with other forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, negative stereotyping, and stigmatization in the digital space,” he said.
“Promoting messages of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and interfaith and intercultural harmony is essential to fostering unity among all peoples,” the Pakistani delegate emphasized, urging the DGC to take a lead role in this regard. Counselor Amanat Ali’s pointed words on Kashmir drew a response from the Indian delegate, Rajiv Shukla, an MP, who accused him of misusing the UN forum. He also claimed that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India, saying that Pakistan was in occupation of a part of that state.
The Pakistani delegate hit back at the Indian claims immediately.
Exercising his right of reply, Amanat Ali said that Jammu and Kashmir is recognized as a disputed territory in numerous in UN resolutions, including one which says that the state’s future should be determined through a “free and impartial plebiscite.”
“India’s efforts to deny its occupation of Jammu and Kashmir only distort history,” the Pakistani delegate said, adding, “Only an occupier would seek to circumvent Security Council resolutions promising self-determination to a people living under disputed governance.
“If India respects international law and moral principles, it should cease its repressive practices, withdraw its military presence from the region, and allow the people of Jammu and Kashmir to freely determine their future.” –Agencies
