In connivance with US officials and CIA operatives, India is involved in slandering and defaming Pakistan and its premier intelligence agency, the ISI. The aim is to create negative perceptions in the minds of foreign analysts and intellectuals about the country. This is done by blaming the ISI for every evil that takes place in India and assertively projecting it through the Indian media. The propaganda campaign includes coining appealing themes against Pakistan/ISI and running them effectively using renowned analysts. They hold seminars and write books on selective themes such as “Pakistan is supporting cross border terrorism in India.” India also offers huge amounts as honorarium to foreign authors for writing anti-Pakistan/ISI articles, reports and books. The Indian electronic media, in collaboration with the RAW, runs live television programmes arranging focus group discussions and talk shows projecting Pakistan in bad light.
A two-day conference on The Challenges of Terrorism to India’s Infrastructure and Economy - 11 was organised by the Security Watch India (SWI), in October, in Hotel Le Méridien, New Delhi. The speakers from USA, Israel and UK were also invited to participate. During the conference, the Indians blamed Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism in their country, but the foreigners were mostly concerned about selling their new technology to India saying that the old security equipment, like CCTV cameras, has become ineffective and needs to be replaced. The Secretary of Internal Security in the Indian Union Home Ministry, U.K. Bansal, claimed: “Pakistan is trying to bleed India through a thousand cuts and the country's economic establishments are running the risk of being attacked, a top government official said today.” He stressed: "This (jihadi) brand of terrorism is primarily sponsored by our neighbouring country in the West whose....... policy is to conduct war against India by all other means and bleed us through a thousand cuts. This naturally includes the targeting of anything.......with a view to damaging, degrading or destroying the engines of economic growth and critical centres of power and strength of our country."
It is a matter of concern that the frequency of such seminars and lectures in India has increased where Pakistan is openly blamed for terrorist activities not only in it, but also other countries, including Afghanistan. It appears that a coordinated effort by the US and India is being launched to defame Pakistan and turn world opinion against it.
Take the example of Pakistani actress Veena Malik’s nude photograph appearing on the cover of the Indian version of the British men's monthly magazine, FHM, with the alphabets “ISI” tattooed on her arm. The exposé caused a major furore in Pakistan, but the Indians hailed her as “a hero, a champion of liberalism and of freedom of expression.” This is one example of using showbiz as a tool for propaganda.
Another malicious allegation is that the Indian print media is aggressively publishing false and fabricated stories to malign the ISI for its alleged involvement in pumping fake currency notes in India. The Time News Network (TNN) has published a story, titled Dawood Ibrahim helping ISI to pump in counterfeit currency in India. According to it, maximum flow of fake currency in Maharashtra is attributed to Ibrahim’s network. It further states that Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bangladesh borders are used as major routes for pumping these fake currency notes into different States, including West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. It has also been claimed that the police has seized substantial number of fake currency from these States.
The Indian leadership and media, however, should introspectively review their home ground where corruption and poverty are at their peak, rather than targeting Pakistan. In this regard, Anna Hazare is once again gearing up to pursue his anti-corruption campaign against the corrupt, who indulge in bad business and conveniently blame the ISI connecting it with various criminal networks. On the one hand, India is prepared to smoke the peace pipe with Pakistan, while, on the other, it continues with its incessant barrage of allegations to malign the Islamic republic that must stop to bridge the trust deficit.
The writer is a political and defence analyst.
Email: sultanm.hali@gmail.com