Why Is Pakistan Losing The Battle Of Narratives?

Between Kargil and Pahalgam, Pakistan continues to weave a hackneyed narrative that beggars all credibility. There is something stunningly cavalier about its blatant falsehoods. And then there are the contradictory positions expressed by different key stakeholders. Let’s consider the three core fundamentals of its narrative building today, and these all echo back 25 years. * First, Pakistan continues to say it is not responsible for terrorism inside Jammu and Kashmir. Since no one believes this any longer, reality is being churned through a fresh spin cycle. It goes like this: Pakistan did promote jihadi elements in the past, but this was only at the behest of Western powers, it no longer employs terrorism as state policy, indeed Pakistan itself is a victim of terrorism. The world is clearly unconvinced. More and more of it now echoes UK minister Hamish Falconer in saying, “They must do more to tackle that threat…India is right to feel outrage at this terrible attack on April 22.”* Secondly, there continues to be high dissonance in Pakistan’s narrative. PM Shehbaz Sharif spoke of “a strong response indeed being given”. Defence minister Khawaja Asif spoke of being ready to “wrap up” tensions. But even as the civilian leadership appeared amenable to de-escalation, the real decision-making seems to have been ceded to the armed forces. And Pak army chief Munir is walking in an altogether different direction.* Thirdly, Pakistan has not got over its nuclear self-amplification, despite its bluff having been called repeatedly. In the current spin cycle, its ambassador in Russia, Muhammad Khalid Jamali, for example, is talking up the use of the “the full spectrum of power, both conventional and nuclear”.In contrast, India has maintained precision and clarity in its messaging. This was evident during the joint press briefings by foreign secretary Vikram Misri and the armed forces representatives both on Wednesday and Thursday. When their statements are read in conjunction with similar communications after the strikes in 2016 and 2019, a distinct narrative can be discerned that has credibility and vindicates Indian actions.The briefings have presented justification for India’s response, related to terrorist actions emanating from Pakistan and the likelihood of renewed acts of terrorism. The Indian response has been proportional to the provocation, with no intent to escalate the situation. This indicated the willingness to punish the adversary and yet maintain the maturity of the response. India’s actions ensured distinction between terrorists, Pak forces and civilians. On Wednesday, it was stressed that the operation was aimed at terror infra. India also announced the successful accomplishment of the action, thereby simultaneously indicating the path to de-escalation. Finally, there was unanimity in govt statement of intent through its determination to respond if Pakistan chose to escalate the situation, which is exactly what Pakistan attempted on the night of May 7/8.Indian military targets were engaged in northern and western India, from Awantipura till Bhuj, using drones and missiles. India neutralised the attempt using the counter-unmanned aerial systems grid and air defence systems. Pak air defence systems were also targeted. In particular, the Lahore-based radar was rendered ineffective.There is a profound qualitative contrast between the two countries’ narratives. Pakistan continues to rely on bluff, bluster and bombast. India’s approach is best seen in a steely determination to safeguard the nation’s interests through a justifiable, judicious and proportionate response.To turn the clock a bit, in a 2020 interview with Dawn, the Pak Inter-Services PR chief indicated the ways to counter India’s information campaign. This included “transparency…not leaving information voids…passing on credible information”. Evidently, the Pak ‘establishment’ finds it easier to articulate the fundamentals of building successful narratives than to implement these. This is also a contributing factor to the Pak army’s domestic standing taking a big hit. Look at its inability to deal with the Imran Khan ‘reverse swing yorker’ that almost bowled out his once benefactor. As Pakistan loses the battle of narratives internally as much as to India, the contrast between their callowness and our sophistication has widened dramatically. During the Kargil conflict, even as Pak govt was claiming that their army was not involved in the infiltration of Kargil, Pak press was proudly reporting that their troops had captured Indian posts in Kargil. The blatant falsehoods became deniable both internally and internationally.Just like then, Pak lies are getting exposed by the contradictions between the different stakeholders. Back then, there was an embarrassing climbdown from a stance of having no control over the “freedom fighters” on the Kargil heights, to Nawaz Sharif meekly accepting the pullback of his forces. As Pak columnist Ayaz Amir has said, “The possession of nuclear weapons does not confer immunity from taking stupid decisions.” The writer, a retired colonel, is a Senior Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar IDSA. Views are personal