In the fog of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, a dangerous alliance is quietly unfolding. While bombs fall along the Line of Control and innocent civilians bear the brunt of cross-border hostilities, a different kind of war is being waged—one fought not with bullets, but with videos, hashtags, and falsified narratives. And at the center of this psychological operation is a disturbing confluence: pro-Khalistan activists abroad amplifying Pakistan’s propaganda in a campaign to sow division, particularly among the Sikh diaspora.
As news broke of shelling in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district—where schools, homes, and even a gurdwara were struck by Pakistani artillery, killing civilians including Sikh community members.
The disinformation campaign started subtly. Soon after the attack, videos began surfacing online that told a different story. They claimed the attacks never happened, or worse, that India staged them.
One such video, posted by a known supporter of a banned Khalistani group, dismissed the deaths as “fabricated,” accusing Indian media of spreading lies. In another video, a more audacious narrative took shape: that India had launched a drone attack intended to hit the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, a revered site in Pakistan. The story ended with the supposed triumph of Pakistani forces who allegedly shot the drone down—a tale with no basis in fact, but one designed to inflame religious sentiment.
Not long after, a fringe digital outlet operating under the guise of community news posted yet another video. In it, the host floated a bizarre conspiracy—that India had bombed its own territory near Amritsar and blamed Pakistan, all to manipulate Sikh sentiment in India and bolster nationalist support.
Such claims may seem absurd, but they are far from harmless. They are meticulously timed and strategically targeted. While Pakistan’s military shells civilian areas, including places of worship, its online allies aim to whitewash these atrocities by shifting blame and fueling doubt—especially among Sikhs, both in India and in the global diaspora. The message is clear: don’t trust India; side with those who “protect” your faith, even if that “protection” comes from a hostile state.
India’s foreign ministry has condemned the disinformation, calling it a “new low” and pointing out the deeply communal undertones of Pakistan’s narrative. The government confirmed that Pakistan deliberately targeted schools, temples, and gurdwaras in its offensive—yet rather than acknowledge the casualties, Pakistan and its information proxies have tried to spin the story into one of Indian aggression and Sikh victimhood.
This playbook is not new. It is the same old machinery of psychological warfare that seeks to fracture Indian society along religious lines. What is new, and deeply troubling, is how certain fringe Khalistan supporters in the West have become willing partners in this propaganda war. Through platforms like TikTok and niche digital outlets, they serve as amplifiers for Pakistan’s strategy, cloaking state-sponsored lies in the garb of Sikh advocacy.
This isn’t activism. It’s information warfare dressed up as dissent. And the consequences aren’t digital—they are real, dangerous, and aimed at destabilizing not just India’s external security, but its internal unity.
