New Delhi: The Pakistani military establishment has planned a series of events — from a domestic media blitz to protests abroad — for the first anniversary of India’s decision to scrap Article 370 and bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.
The Indian government had announced the decision on 5 August last year, and Pakistan is observing the day as ‘Black Day’.
Indian security agencies have managed to get a copy of the events being planned, and the list is exhaustive.
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Plans in the works
Among Pakistan’s plans is a foreign media corps’ trip to the Line of Control, as well as one for the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). A white paper is also scheduled to be handed over to the UNMOGIP.
A number of packages criticising the Indian government have been made for Pakistani TV news channels, who are also supposed to turn their logos black.
The Pakistani documents reveal that a detailed statement has been worked out by the Pakistani military’s PR arm — Inter-Services Public Relations or ISPR. The planning is so in-depth that even the Twitter schedule of the director general of ISPR is listed.
All Pakistani embassies have been asked to hold programmes and protest rallies against India on the Kashmir issue.
“A lot of planning has gone into the so-called ‘Black Day’. It shows the extent of propaganda planning that goes on in Pakistan,” a source in the defence and security establishment said.
Various departments, including intelligence agency ISI, have been made responsible for specific programmes.
“Everything has to do with creating an impact. The Pakistani establishment has planned various social media trends surrounding ‘Black Day’ and Kashmir,” another source said.
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