ISLAMABAD – Information Minister Attaullah Tarar Sunday said that investigators have uncovered an India-linked digital propaganda network aimed at spreading misinformation and anti-state content in Pakistan.
He said the social media campaign related to the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was funded from across the border. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Tarar said security agencies had recently arrested a person providing digital marketing services whose activities had links to India.
The information minister told the media that investigators found that payments for promoting and amplifying social media content in Pakistan were made through payment gateways originating from India. “The investigation found that the entire misinformation network was operating through bot farms,” Tarar said, and added that the network was used to spread “anti-state content” targeting Pakistan, the state institutions, the government, the armed forces and the army chief.
The minister said investigators traced much of the promoted content to campaigns revolving around the Joint Awami Action Committee in Azad Kashmir. “We had been saying from day one that this Joint Action Committee wanted to weaken the relationship between Kashmir and Pakistan,” the minister said, adding the movement was part of a broader conspiracy rather than a campaign for the rights of Kashmiris. He also questioned why the banned group didn’t participate in the democratic process if it genuinely represented the public.Referring to previous protests in Azad Kashmir, Tarar accused the committee of encouraging violence, creating law and order and taking the law into its own hands by blocking roads and organising armed demonstrations. He said authorities now possess “irrefutable evidence” linking the campaign to India. “There should no longer be any doubt that its links lead to India, and we now have undeniable evidence,” Tarar added.
He said social media campaigns supporting the Joint Awami Action Committee were financed from India citing the outcome of technical investigations on the payments. “All the payments for the Joint Action Committee’s social media content were coming from India, and this has been established through technical data,” he said.
The minister further stated that investigators had recovered WhatsApp conversations between the arrested suspect and an Indian operator discussing payments, targeted viewership and account details. According to the minister, payments were transferred in small amounts to avoid detection by financial monitoring systems. He also revealed that forensic investigators had traced the origin of several online accounts to India despite the use of virtual private networks (VPNs). “When a VPN hides a user’s location, the device itself can still be identified during forensic analysis. That is how these India-based accounts were detected,” he said.
He told the media that the government was also examining digital payment gateways used in the operation and vowed that authorities would continue exposing what he called coordinated disinformation campaigns. Tarar further stated that the network promoted sectarianism, anti-state narratives and content against the armed forces through coordinated bot activity. He maintained that such campaigns sought to damage public confidence in state institutions but insisted they would not succeed.
The minister said the social media posts were intended to incite violence, spread misinformation and undermine state institutions. “These posts were related to the Joint Awami Action Committee. They contain propaganda against the army, the country and state institutions and encourage people to rebel,” Tarar said and added the material was circulated across various social media platforms to influence public opinion. He said the investigation into the arrested suspect was continuing and that additional digital evidence had already been recovered.
