Pakistan asks UN, EU for urgent inquiry into India’s disinformation campaign
Pakistan has asked the United Nations and the European Union to investigate a recent report’s findings that exposed a 15-year disinformation campaign to serve India’s interests and discredit Pakistan.
Pakistan also demanded the UN immediately delist 10 fake NGOs created by India to malign Pakistan as identified by the Brussels-based EU DisinfoLab report, entitled “Indian Chronicles.”
“Pakistan calls on the United Nations and the UN Human Rights Council to immediately begin investigation and delisting of the 10 fake NGOs created by India to malign Pakistan. We also call on the United Nations to create processes that ensure that the international system is not manipulated to such influence operations,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Friday.
“We also call on the United Nations to create processes that ensure that the international system is not manipulated through such influence operations,” he said.
He urged the EU Parliament must begin a credible investigation into its manipulation through fake organizations carrying out anti-Pakistan propaganda under a “fully-funded disinformation and influence operation run by India”.
The report said the operation was led by the Srivastava Group, a business conglomerate that came into the spotlight in India after organizing a visit to the disputed Kashmir region for far-right members of the European Parliament in late 2019.
“The scope and extent of India’s operations against Pakistan under their hybrid war is now apparent for the world to see. Pakistan will take all necessary actions to protect its interests,” he said.
“We urge the UN human rights machinery particularly the UN Human Rights Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the relevant procedure mandate holders and human rights experts to take a serious look as to how a prestigious platform was misused,” Qureshi said.
The EU DisinfoLab exposed India’s 15-year-long campaign to undermine and discredit Pakistan and Kashmir at international forums, spreading a disinformation campaign that targeted the European Union and UN with over 750 fake local media outlets and more than 10 sham non-governmental organizations.
The DisinfoLab also found that ANI, a partner organisation of Reuters, was involved in republishing and magnifying the fake stories and Modi’s interests.