The Propaganda War: Who Is Paying to Malign Pakistan?

The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement’s (PTM) recent protest held at Brussels outside the European Union’s parliament, calling for the restriction on Pakistan’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status, shows how the country is facing a calculated disinformation campaign. PTM ramps up its global efforts to present counter-terrorism actions as a violation of human rights. The story of the PTM is naive, insidious, and highly dangerous: it takes the Pakistani state and its security agencies as the aggressors, and puts the armed militants, the very people who organize chaos, in the position of victims. This distortion of truth is not journalism nor even activism; this is a carefully planned propaganda campaign, paid and coordinated by foreign interests with only one goal in mind: to vilify Pakistan in the international arena and plant the seeds of devastating ethnic destruction back home.

The truth on the ground, though, is completely opposite. The war against terrorism in Pakistan is not an ethnic war; it is a war to protect the security of this nation. It is a national conflict that has cost the nation heavily in blood and treasure, and it is a battle that is fought by Pakistani forces, including huge masses of loyal Pashtuns, to defend citizens, regardless of tribal or regional boundaries.

The Anatomy of a Malign Campaign

It is no secret that such international campaigns, which aim at lobbying governments and international organizations, are being funded and logistically facilitated by intelligence agencies, such as the Afghan GDI and the Indian RAW. India’s intelligence agencies leveraging Afghan soil for anti-Pakistani activities isn’t a new thing. India has been actively involved in Afghanistan during the era of Ashraf Ghani, funding development projects, and recent situations point towards similar engagements. These activities are aimed at internationalizing domestic matters of Pakistan, violating the basic principle of non-intervention in sovereign matters.

Distortion of facts is the main strategy of this propaganda. They overlook the constitutional and administrative reforms that have incorporated the tribal areas (former FATA) into the mainstream. They do not pay attention to the tedious legal systems through which Pakistan is operating its counter-terrorist efforts. Rather, they create a conception that Pakistan is a repressive nation, and they want the ignorant masses to sympathize with them. The reality is that the army of Pakistan defends its citizens, and terrorists perpetrate violence. The foreign-sponsored accounts try to conceal the actual perpetrators of the havoc, i.e., terror outfits that murder innocents, instead pointing fingers at the institutions protecting the nation.

Contorted Reality: Terrorists as Victims

The most alarming part of the PTM’s propaganda is the systematic effort to whitewash the activities of armed militants. In their sanitized language, cross-border terrorists, frequently armed with US leftover equipment and supported by proxies in the guise of political allies, are also known as innocents. This story conveniently ignores the history of terror, leaving scars on the Pashtun belt. The nation should not forget about the atrocities of these terror outfits; the demolition of schools, the attack on hospitals, the displacement of families, and the use of coercion against local communities.

The horrors of the 2014 attack on Army Public School Peshawar, in which 132 innocent schoolchildren were slaughtered by Afghan-backed TTP terrorists, can never be washed out of the nation’s memory through arm-twisting rhetoric. Pakistan’s security forces did not commit this act; they avenged it. The role of the state has always been defensive, reconstruction, and rehabilitation. As the PTM campaigns selectively across borders, the state has been on the ground, rebuilding communities, repairing infrastructure, and making sure citizens are able to resume a livelihood free of fear. This reality of the state protecting its people and land cannot be replaced by propaganda.

The Cost of Silence and the Price of Blood

The legitimacy of any leadership is determined not by its rhetoric in a foreign hall but through the actions taken during a crisis. What is notable is that PTM leadership has been utterly silent when the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or other terror groups unleash terror on their own citizens. This selective silence, coupled with vocal aggression directed solely at the state, shows where the loyalties and priorities lie. Real Pashtun courage is being loyal to Pakistan and opposing those who wreak havoc on Pashtun communities, not being an accomplice to foreign causes.

This national struggle does not come at the price of light politics; it is the blood price paid by the whole nation. The 94,000+ sacrifices since 2001, whether it be soldiers in uniform or civilians in villages, are conclusive evidence of the colossal cost Pakistan has paid in the struggle. The economic cost is over 150 billion. The people of Pakistan grieve with all the losses, but they will not allow these sacrifices to be hijacked or watered down by people who are merely out to create divisions. The enemy is not Pashtun identity; the enemy is cross-border terror networks that kill innocent people and seek cross-border havens, and cause mayhem on our shores. The mission of Pakistan’s armed forces is clear: to cut the roots of terror and not to punish any ethnic group.

Loyalty, Inclusion, and Sovereignty

The idea propagated by the PTM that Pashtuns are being ethnically oppressed is historically and practically wrong. Pashtun forms part of the Pakistani fabric, smoothly incorporated in the military, government, bureaucracy, and the civil society of Pakistan. They have occupied the highest offices and have been at the forefront of the nation’s progress. Their devotion, integrations, and enormous contributions characterize their role in contemporary Pakistan. The foreign lobbying by the PTM essentially serves the interests of enemy powers and threatens the sovereignty and security of Pakistan.

The state’s obligation is to resolve grievances of any community within the constitutional and institutional framework. All the operations, all the policies, and all the sacrifices are based on one thing: a stable and secure Pakistan where none of the citizens, especially Pashtun brothers and sisters who have been through so much, live in terror. Pakistan is resolute in its determination to protect its future against terrorism and oppose the divisive political agenda of those supported by the foreign campaigns. Pakistanis fight because they believe in their country, their citizens, and the peace they are all entitled to.