Toolkit: Pakistan Engages Embassies In Asymmetric Warfare Against India

[Spartan]

Pakistan has roped in its diplomatic missions for asymmetric warfare with an ISI-manufactured toolkit amid tensions with India over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Indian intelligence sources told CNN-News18 on Friday.

The playbook exploits communal fault lines and digital disinformation, with the foreign ministry asking all missions to contribute significantly to handling the crisis, the sources said.

Pakistan’s foreign office, they added, has issued adirective to embassies to do crisis management and media psychological operations during India-Pakistan tensions.

Pakistan’s embassies are doubling down on asymmetric media warfare to compensate for dwindling diplomatic leverage, they said.

This strategy risks backfiring due to eroding credibility and India’s robust counter-psyops capabilities, the intel sources said.

“The foreign ministry realises that Khawaja Asif and Ishaq Dar’s statements are not working. They want to handle crisis management from outside Pakistan and in a sophisticated way," said a source.

The foreign ministry has asked the missions to tell the world that Pakistanis are victims of terrorism, which leaders like Benazir Bhutto fell victim to, said sources. It also wants to convey that Pakistan is open to any kind of investigation into the Pahalgam attack and India should allow a third-party probe, they added.

According to top Pakistan government sources, the toolkit tells diplomatic missions to preemptively counter India’s allegations of Pakistani state involvement in cross-border terrorism like Pulwama 2019 and Pahalgam 2025.

It asks to amplify Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir as a local indigenous issue that wants to get rid of Muslims.

“Mobilise embassies to lobby international bodies (UN, OIC) for resolutions condemning India’s actions," says the toolkit. “Shield Pakistan from potential sanctions or reputational fallout, especially IMF bailout negotiations. Redirect public attention from Pakistan’s economic collapse as 2024 inflation at 38% or political instability. Flood platforms like Twitter/X with pro-Pakistan hashtags #KashmirBleeds, #IndiaStateTerror to dominate trending lists."

It also directs for the use of AI-generated content to fabricate “evidence" of Indian atrocities like fake videos of military abuses in Kashmir.

It asks diplomats to use op-eds and press briefings and plant opinion pieces in Western outlets like The Guardian and Al Jazeera through lobbyists like Friends of Pakistan.

“Brief foreign journalists on India’s aggression and use Pakistan’s historical victimhood narrative," it says. “Direct groups like Kashmir Council EU to stage protests in cities like London and New York. Use influencers like Pakistani celebrities to humanise Kashmiri atrocities on platforms like Instagram."

According to sources, embassies have been given templated talking points to ensure uniformity in messaging like “India’s Hindutva regime is destabilising South Asia".

“Use Beijing’s UNSC veto to block Indian resolutions like recently designating Masood Azhar as a global terrorist in 2019," says the toolkit. “Secure rhetorical support from Islamist-leaning leaders, though limited by their economic ties to India."

It also tells diplomats to file petitions at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging Indian war crimes, despite Islamabad’s non-recognition of ICJ jurisdiction in Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case.