In the latest episode of the India-Pakistan confrontation, what died first wasn’t a soldier or civilian — it was the truth.
The information war unleashed on Indian television screens in the past few weeks has crossed all boundaries of decency, ethics, and journalism. This wasn’t merely about misinformation. It was a coordinated, aggressive disinformation campaign — laced with vulgar language, hate speech, and fictitious reports — propagated not by anonymous trolls but by mainstream media houses at a national level.
It is said that in war, the first casualty is truth. It is a fact that warfare is not limited to weapons or intelligence alone; an element of media is part of the war strategy. Having worked for over three decades in India’s national media, I can say with conviction that what we witnessed was a collapse of professional standards.
Television anchors and media websites turned into weapons of mass deception. Reputable journalists and once-respected channels stooped to broadcasting outright lies. The narratives they spun — that Karachi was destroyed, that the Pakistani army chief had been arrested after a coup, or that Indian forces had captured Islamabad — were so absurd they could have passed for parody if they weren’t presented with such sincerity.
When channels were broadcasting that Karachi had been “wiped off the map,” I was initially skeptical. But Barkha Dutt also tweeted, I became concerned for friends living there.
I tried to reach a former colleague who now lives in the city, but he did not pick up calls. A moment of doubt crept in. Minutes later, he called back — apologising for the missed call, explaining he’d been queuing outside a restaurant to buy nihari. That’s when the horror of this manufactured panic truly hit home.
Indian television headlines screamed: “Indian Navy Destroys Karachi Port!” “General Asim Munir Arrested After Coup!” “Indian Army Takes Over Islamabad!” Zee News went as far as declaring that India had captured Islamabad, prompting panelists on air to break into celebratory dance. Aaj Tak fabricated a video of an attack on Karachi Port, produced entirely in-studio, presenting it as authentic footage.
India Today claimed simultaneous strikes on Lahore and Karachi. ABP News announced the arrest of General Munir, while TV9 reported that 25 Pakistani cities had been reduced to rubble. One retired army officer on a panel jubilantly claimed Indian troops had entered Pakistan-administered Kashmir — seemingly forgetting the logistical reality that mobilising strike corps takes time. In 2001, during ‘Operation Parakram’, it had taken two months to get them to the frontlines.
India News even went ahead and appointed a new Pakistani army chief. Zee News aired graphics showing Pakistani troops surrendering and Indian soldiers taking over major cities, including a fabricated video of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hiding in a bunker and surrendering.
As if the falsehoods weren’t enough, the language used by anchors hit a new low. One anchor abused the visiting Iranian foreign minister on air, calling him a “son of a pig,” prompting a diplomatic protest from Iran. Republic TV’s anchor screamed at a Pakistani guest, “Janjua, your army is finished. You’re cowards!” Across channels, Pakistani panelists were routinely humiliated.
This wasn’t spontaneous hysteria — it was institutional. National media houses, acting on orders, peddled falsehoods with strategic intent. When reports emerged that a Pakistani aircraft had been shot down over Rajasthan and its pilot captured, someone jokingly shared in a WhatsApp group that the pilot’s name was “Jahazuddin.” Minutes later, Indian news tickers began reporting that name as fact.
Credible sources such as The Wire were blocked. Over 8,000 Twitter accounts and websites disseminating accurate information were taken offline. Truth-tellers were silenced to clear the stage for lies.
Media as Force Multiplier
This use of media as a “force multiplier” in psychological warfare is not new in India. The first notable example dates to October 1993, during a standoff between the army and militants at the Hazratbal shrine in Kashmir.
Brigadier Arjun Ray, then based at the 15 Corps in Srinagar, turned the media into an active tool of the operation, copying the CNN operations in First Gulf War.
The Hazratbal siege dragged on for 32 days. Journalists were given access to militants inside the shrine, allowed to report from the site, and fed a carefully crafted narrative.
This approach was perfected during the 1999 Kargil War. By then, Arjun Ray had become a Major General and the first head of the Directorate of Public Information. Though Colonel Bikram Singh (later Army Chief) conducted daily briefings, Ray and his aide Colonel Manvendra Singh (a former defence journalist who joined the Territorial Army) coordinated media coverage.
It was reportedly Ray who advised External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh — father of Manvendra — to release intercepted audio between General Pervez Musharraf and Lt. General Aziz to expose Pakistan’s role.
Yet even then, National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra was unconvinced. He understood that Indian media lacked global credibility. Following the Kargil war, Mishra invited NDTV chief Prannoy Roy and advised him to establish an independent channel.
With government support — including intervention to permit satellite uplinking and partial funding — NDTV was tasked with maintaining a “centre-left” position: critical of the government, but a reliable voice during crises, especially in Kashmir or during war.
It’s no coincidence that Barkha Dutt was frequently deployed to cover protests in Kashmir, subtly shaping a narrative palatable to international audiences. NDTV built credibility through consistent coverage and government scrutiny — only to use that trust to serve state interests when needed.
By 2015, however, under NSA Ajit Doval, NDTV’s funds were cut, as allegedly English-language subsidies were diverted elsewhere. The new government, confident in India’s rise as a hard and economic power, no longer felt the need for a soft-power media outlet. Only those who echoed government propaganda without ambiguity would now receive patronage.
A crucial element in any information war is credibility. Lies gain traction only when sprinkled with some truth. Given the current conduct of Indian media channels, who will believe their version of events? Unlike during the Kargil War, the government this time didn’t even offer detailed briefings from Delhi.
In 1999, Pakistan had suffered from poor information management. This time, the roles seemed reversed. While junior Indian officers like Colonel Sophia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh were fielded to brief the press, Pakistan brought out its third most senior air force official, Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed, who delivered a calm and detailed presentation with maps, explaining how Pakistan had electronically intercepted Indian aircraft even before ‘Operation Sindoor’ began.
He described Pakistan’s new “multi-domain operations strategy,” indicating a shift away from conventional dogfights.
For those who covered Kargil and ‘Operation Parakram’, it’s clear that when senior officials brief the press thoroughly, the media aligns with the narrative. In Delhi, daily on-record briefings were common, with even Army Chiefs offering backgrounders. I remember Pakistani journalists like Abdul Waheed Hussaini from Jang attending these sessions, asking tough questions. Even Prime Minister Vajpayee and Jaswant Singh occasionally briefed editors and foreign correspondents directly.
Because Pakistan fielded senior figures like Aurangzeb, their narrative dominated global headlines. India, lacking a comparable voice, ceded the information space. Whether Pakistan’s version was true or not is debatable — but in the absence of an alternative, it became the accepted story.
Given the way Indian TV channels have conducted themselves recently, who will trust their narrative now? They have brought international embarrassment to India and damaged the country’s credibility on a global stage. The kind of harm they have caused is something even millions of Pakistanis working together couldn’t have done. Who will believe the Indian narrative anymore across the world? That is a question both the country's rulers, media managers and the editors of these channels will now have to answer.
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