Inter Services Intelligence's new war on India targets Modi with deepfakes and disinformation

New Delhi: India's national security planners, after conducting a detailed analysis of the Inter Services Intelligence's strategy, have determined that the battle must now be waged on three fronts.

Officials say the battle against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism is no longer expected to remain a conventional one. Following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has allegedly decided to target India on three fronts, requiring all of them to be tackled simultaneously. Security planners believe meeting this multi-front challenge will be India's biggest test.

The ISI would continue to encourage the setting up of home-grown modules in the country. It would back modules such as the one that was busted in Faridabad, Haryana. This change in strategy by the ISI came at a time when India rewrote its security doctrine.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack last year, India declared that it would no longer view terrorism merely as a cross-border attack, but would treat it as an act of war against the country. In the wake of this doctrinal shift, ISI is believed to have concluded that a direct military confrontation with India was no longer a viable option.

While Pakistani politicians periodically threaten India with war, officials say these statements are largely rhetorical and stand in contrast to the ground reality.

An Intelligence Bureau official says that Pakistan will ramp up drug smuggling using drones while also continuing to give a lot of emphasis to its underworld-terror modules. However, what it proposes to engage in the most is the disinformation campaign, the official added.

“Disinformation campaigns would peak the most when the Indian army undertakes some exercise. It would also go up considerably when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making a foreign visit and also when some dignitary from abroad visits India,” the official pointed out.

Another official said that Pakistan wants the global narrative to be in its favour. It wants to internationalise the Kashmir issue. India, on the other hand, has maintained that Kashmir is an internal issue and there would be no global intervention on that. (IANS)  

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