Experts Call for Stronger Media Strategies to Combat Disinformation in Pakistan
Experts at the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS) in Islamabad have highlighted the urgent need for proactive media strategies to counter disinformation and build Pakistan’s resilience in future conflicts. With the importance of information warfare growing, especially after the recent escalation between India and Pakistan, participants called for coordinated efforts across government, media, and civil society.
During a roundtable conference titled “Weaponising Information: Media Strategies in Modern Warfare,” experts from academia and the media discussed how information now serves as a crucial weapon in modern conflicts. Air Marshal Zahid Mehmood (Retd), Senior Director at CASS, opened the discussion by stressing that the media plays a decisive role in shaping public perception and influencing outcomes on the battlefield. He advocated for moving beyond reactive measures to develop forward-looking strategies that can strengthen Pakistan’s ability to withstand future crises.
Amer Zafar Durrani, Founding President of Reenergia and keynote speaker, described information manipulation as a decisive factor in today’s conflicts, targeting content, methods of distribution, and how the public thinks. He recommended establishing a Joint Information Operations Coordination Cell under the National Security Council, supported by artificial intelligence systems capable of detecting threats specific to Pakistan’s context. Durrani also emphasized the need for mechanisms like verification, provenance tagging, and pre-bunking to deal with disinformation. He called for policies that prevent hostile influence campaigns while upholding civil liberties, and stressed the importance of digital literacy and regional cooperation in building lasting resilience.
Rehman Azhar, journalist and anchor at Express News, discussed the recent India-Pakistan conflict and its coverage, highlighting how Indian media, under pressure from the far-right BJP government, relied on sensationalism and exaggerated claims of victory. He noted that the Indian media’s lack of experience in war reporting led to the spread of misinformation. Azhar pointed to rapidly evolving threats, such as bots and deepfakes, and argued that information warfare demands a proactive approach. He said that the media should engage in pre-bunking misinformation before crises develop, rather than only reacting after the fact.
Air Marshal Javaid Ahmed (Retd), President of CASS, concluded the session by highlighting the contrast between India’s heavy investment in promoting its narrative during the conflict and Pakistan’s success in the information realm, credited to effective performance by the armed forces and professional press briefings. He stressed that Pakistan should institutionalize media preparedness as an essential element of its national security strategy to counter future challenges in the information domain.
