As Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban continue their third round of talks in Istanbul, officials have accused Indian media of attempting to undermine the negotiations through fabricated content and misinformation campaigns.
According to official and intelligence sources, a leading Indian television channel recently aired an undated video in which an alleged Indian national was portrayed as a Pakistani cleric praising the Indian Army while criticising Pakistan’s armed forces. Investigations have revealed that the video was filmed on a fabricated set designed to resemble a mosque, with the intent to mislead viewers and malign Pakistan.
Authorities in Islamabad say the clip forms part of a broader pattern of coordinated disinformation by Indian and Afghan social media networks aimed at discrediting Pakistan during sensitive diplomatic engagements. The video, they noted, follows earlier AI-generated and manipulated materials circulated online to shape anti-Pakistan narratives.
This is not the first instance of such attempts. During recent Pakistan-Afghanistan border tensions, Indian and Afghan outlets falsely claimed that a fire incident on Ashraf Road in Peshawar — later confirmed to have been caused by a short circuit — was the result of an Afghan missile strike.
Officials have described these efforts as part of an organised propaganda drive intended to sabotage regional stability and derail peace efforts between Islamabad and Kabul.
