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Home Article Fake news warfare in Pakistan

Fake news warfare in Pakistan

By Sophia Siddiqui 3 months ago

IN an era marked by technological advancements and digital interconnectedness, the rise of fake news
and fifth-generation warfare has emerged as a significant concern worldwide. Pakistan, like many other
countries, have been grappling with the challenges posed by misinformation and unconventional forms
of warfare. Through this writeup, I am aiming to explore and educate the impact of fake news and fifth-
generation warfare on Pakistan and shed light on the measures taken to combat these threats.

When we discuss the phenomenon of Fake News it refers to false or misleading information,
disinformation and deliberately spread through various channels, including social media platforms like
WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, websites, and traditional media outlets by giving half or incomplete news
feeds to journalists. Pakistan is witnessing the adverse effects of fake news, which can sow confusion,
incite violence, and undermine trust in institutions. It is very obvious, misinformation campaigns often
target sensitive issues such as religion, politics, and national security, further exacerbating societal
divisions. And in the context of Pakistan, the impact of fake news has been particularly challenging for
our agencies and armed forces, as widely believed.

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The proliferation of fake news has presented significant hurdles for the agencies and army of Pakistan.
False narratives, deliberately spread through various mediums, have the potential to disrupt operations,
mislead the public, and undermine the trust placed in these vital institutions. With the complexity of the
security landscape in Pakistan, the detrimental effects of misinformation can pose severe threats to
national security and stability.
In this age of information, false narratives often target sensitive issues such as counterterrorism efforts,
border security, and military operations. Manipulated information can incite unrest, breed mistrust, and
hinder the effectiveness of agencies and the army. Additionally, fake news can create confusion among
citizens, making it harder for them to discern accurate information from misleading propaganda. These
further strains the relationship between the public and these institutions, eroding the crucial bond
necessary for a nation’s security apparatus.

While, fifth-generation warfare encompasses non-traditional methods employed by state and non-state
actors to wage asymmetric warfare. This form of warfare involves tactics like information manipulation,
cyber-attacks, psychological operations, and disinformation campaigns. Pakistan, being a country with a
complex geopolitical landscape, has experienced the implications of fifth-generation warfare firsthand. It
poses a significant threat to national security, stability, and public trust. I can relate these discussions
with the message of DG ISPR’ Major General Ahmed Shafir’s press conference held on 26 June 2023.

The spread of fake news and fifth-generation warfare tactics in Pakistan has far-reaching consequences.
Firstly, it can undermine public confidence in key institutions, including the government, media, judiciary
and even the political parties. This erosion of trust weakens democratic processes and the rule of law.
Secondly, false narratives can fuel ethnic, religious, and political tensions, potentially leading to social
unrest and violence. Thirdly, the credibility of journalism is at stake, as fake news blurs the line between
facts and fiction, making it harder for citizens to discern reliable information.

Recognizing the severity of the situation, Pakistan has taken several steps to address the challenges
posed by fake news and fifth-generation warfare. Efforts have been made to enhance media literacy and
critical thinking skills among citizens. Educational institutions and civil society organizations have played
a crucial role in promoting digital literacy and responsible media consumption. Additionally, legislation
has been introduced to regulate social media platforms at the ministry of information and broadcasting
and media outlets to curb the spread of fake news. Collaboration between the government, tech
companies, and media outlets is crucial to ensure the effectiveness of these measures.

Media organizations and journalists bear a significant responsibility in countering fake news and fifth-
generation warfare. Adhering to ethical standards, verifying sources, fact-checking, and providing
unbiased reporting are essential for maintaining the integrity of journalism. Furthermore, media outlets
can actively engage in raising awareness about the dangers of misinformation and disinformation
campaigns. Collaborative efforts between media outlets and the government can foster a more robust
and accurate information ecosystem.
Fake news and fifth-generation warfare pose serious threats to Pakistan’s society, governance, and
national security. By fostering media literacy, implementing effective legislation, and promoting
responsible journalism, Pakistan is taking steps towards mitigating these challenges. However, a
comprehensive and multi-stakeholder approach is necessary to combat the spread of misinformation
and protect the integrity of information channels. It is significant for individuals, media organizations,
academia, and the government to work together in building a resilient society that is well-informed,
discerning, and immune to the manipulative tactics of fake news and fifth-generation warfare.

—The writer is Journalist and doing research on Fake News in South Asia.

Email: sophia.itp@gmail.com

Sophia Siddiqui

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Unlearnt lessons

Maleeha Lodhi Published October 9, 2023 Updated about 15 hours ago 0

The writer is a former ambassador to the US, UK and UN.

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PAKISTAN’S checkered political history holds many lessons that need to be learnt if the country is to
escape from its troubled past. Some have been learnt but several of the more consequential ones
haven’t. These unlearnt lessons have left the country deeply fractured and in a state of chronic political
instability and economic weakness, lurching from one crisis to another.

There are at least five unlearnt lessons that have been consequential to the country’s fate and fortunes,
although this is not an exhaustive list. The first is intensely antagonistic politics that has involved bitter
feuds and unremitting confrontations between political leaders and parties. With the war paradigm
guiding political conduct, opponents have been seen, not as competitors, but as enemies to be
eliminated from the political scene in a terminal conflict. This pattern of behaviour is part of an
unedifying tradition, characterised by intolerance and lack of respect for democratic norms.

Those in power rarely accepted the need to engage with the opposition, while those in opposition
almost always tried to actively destabilise the government of the day. These power struggles became
fatal distractions from governance and meeting public needs. What were essentially intra-elite squabbles
— over power and patronage, not policy — created the conditions for the military to intervene and
return to the political stage.

The repeatedly ignored lesson was that compromise and consensus were essential to achieve civilian
supremacy and strengthen democracy. Also overlooked was the risk that endless power tussles would
open space for the military to ultimately seize control of the political system. There were always political
parties ready to encourage military interventions to remove their opponents. The military for its part
easily found political allies to oust civilian governments and aid its takeovers of power.

This brings up unlearnt lesson two, relating to military interventions. Pakistan has spent over 30 years of
its existence under direct military rule and since 2018 under hybrid ‘democracy’, in which the military
has had an expansive role in governance.

Despite widespread public respect for the military in its professional role, its political interventions have
lacked public legitimacy. The lesson from long bouts of military rule is that these constitutional
transgressions neither found public acceptance nor delivered what they promised — political stability
and economic progress. Instead, they produced deleterious consequences for the country and
undermined the military’s reputation. That is why today the military acknowledges that military rule is
neither an option nor a ‘solution’.

History has repeated itself in Pakistan as both farce and tragedy.

But a hybrid system is also problematic. The lesson of the hybrid experience, that further skewed the
civil-military balance and involved democratic regression, is that it is inherently unable to provide
coherent and effective governance.

It fragments the governance system, creates confusion about lines of authority and also distracts the
military from its professional role, especially when the security situation needs its undivided attention.
The hybrid experiment of 2018-2022 hardly built economic or political stability; quite the opposite in
fact. Continuing this ‘model’ will not yield an outcome different from the past.

The third lesson is that unless the country undertakes wide-ranging reforms to address its long-standing
structural economic problems it cannot escape from the trap of chronic fiscal deficits, balance-of-
payments problems, high inflation and macroeconomic instability, which have necessitated repeated
financial bailouts.

The reliance on outsiders — ‘friendly’ countries and IMF — for bailouts has been a short-term fix, not a
solution. For decades, dysfunctional economic management by both civilian and military governments
evaded reform and resisted mobilising adequate domestic resources. Instead, resort to excessive
borrowing at home and abroad mired Pakistan in unsustainable debt and perpetual financial crises. The
country’s foreign alignments were frequently leveraged to secure financial help — often dubbed
geopolitical rent — to overcome the crisis of the day.
So serious is Pakistan’s economic crisis today that the lesson it offers can be ignored only at great peril to
the country. The old way of managing public finances is no longer tenable. There is an urgent need to
deal with the structural sources of persisting financial imbalances: a narrow and inequitable tax regime,
limited export base, energy sector’s circular debt, bankrupt public-sector enterprises, heavy regulatory
burden and low savings and investment.

The fourth lesson has to do with the failure to invest in human capital. This has left the country with
deteriorating social indicators and at the bottom of global human development rankings. Unde-
rinvestment has meant 40 per cent of Pakistanis are illiterate, 22 million school-age children are out of
school, poverty has risen to almost 40pc while health indicators including malnutrition levels remain
grim. Pakistan cannot achieve economic growth and progress by failing to invest in its people.

Lesson five concerns how the state has dealt with religious extremism and militancy over the decades.
Of course, violent extremism has had both internal and external drivers.

Gen Ziaul Haq’s Islamisation policies in the 1980s dangerously divided society along religious and
sectarian lines. His patronisation of certain extremist groups — along with fallout from the Afghan war —
proved consequential, leading to the rise of militancy in the1990s. State tolerance and leniency towards
such groups emboldened them and heightened the threat to the country’s security.

Fast forward to 2007 and the takeover of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid by militants. This was a turning point at
a time when Pakistan was cooperating in the US-led ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan. Thereafter assorted
militant groups declared war on Pakistan including the Tehreek-i-Taliban, which was formed in that
period.

Although Pakistan’s security forces have since undertaken effective campaigns to defeat militancy, the
need remains for a consistent and holistic strategy that doesn’t just rely on kinetic actions. There is also a
wider lesson from Pakistan’s experience with extremism.

Too often governments sought to appease extremists or waver when faced with agitation by religious
zealots. Succumbing to pressure to bring an end to the crisis of the day emboldened extremist forces,
only for them to repeatedly rear their head to challenge the state.
The lessons from these different aspects of Pakistan’s experience should not be hard to learn and act
upon. Doing that offers the best and perhaps only chance for the country to free itself from the dead
hand of the past.

The writer is a former ambassador to the US, UK and UN.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2023

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