Govt moves to counter Indian propaganda

Diplomatic missions abroad asked to highlight atrocities in Kashmir Riazul Haq

ISLAMABAD: To counter Indian propaganda about Balochistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has written to all its missions across the world for highlighting the atrocities being committed in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).

This was stated by an official of the Foreign Office on Tuesday after members of a standing committee of the National Assembly expressed dissatisfaction over the ministry’s performance in raising the issue of Indian atrocities in Kashmir before the international community, besides ‘failing to mobilise’ local media for the purpose.



While briefing the committee about the human rights violations by Indian security forces in IOK, Foreign Office Kashmir Director Shahras Asim got an earful when he was unable to satisfactorily answer a flurry of questions from lawmakers.

He started with the claim that Pakistan had done well to portray the case of Kashmir at the international level but the committee’s Chairman Babar Nawaz Khan and three female members raised questions in this regard.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Munaza Hassan asked about the reported use of a photograph of Palestinian victims for raising the plight of Kashmiris at the United Nations.

“Your claim to fame for raising the issue globally was because of the international media and not yourself,” she stated, asking what had been done about objectionable posters pasted in Europe and the United States.

The official replied that the Foreign Office had recently written to all its missions across the world to counter the Indian propaganda on Balochistan while highlighting Kashmir. “We have asked them about the financial expenses and other details,” he said.

He informed the committee that India had initiated a fresh campaign about Balochistan.

PTI lawmaker Aliya Kamran also asked what the Foreign Office had done to utilise the media in this regard. She said the Indian media was playing a key role in waging propaganda about Kashmir and Balochistan.



When Surriya Asghar of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz suggested allocating airtime on private media for the Kashmir issue, the official supported the proposal.

A PTI lawmaker also asked what had been done to arrange a meeting of Mashal Malik with Kashmiri rights activist Yasin Malik, her husband, after the meeting of an Indian spy with his mother and wife.

The Foreign Office official said the international community considered Kashmir a regional dispute between Pakistan and India. PTI’s Munaza commented that it meant that India was doing better lobbying than Pakistan.

The official also stated that some non-government organisations in Pakistan were not interested in supporting the country’s cause about Kashmir and border violations.
MNA Kamran also asked what the government was doing about some maps not accurately showing the status of IOK.

The Foreign Office director replied it was sad that this was not only being done internationally, but also at the national level. “In some instances, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are also being shown as Indian territory,” he said.
He added that all Pakistani missions abroad had been asked to use maps approved by the UN where the Line of Control was clearly marked. “We have also asked them to tell local media and international forums to use these maps,” he said.