The Pakistan-Afghanistan Visa Saga – OpEd
A sensational news item that has been cropping up in some Indian and Afghan media over the last few days is that the Taliban government has refused visas to the Defence Minister of Pakistan Khawaja Muhammad Asif, and ISI Chief Lt Gen Asim Malik. The narrative read literally will paint a dramatic image that the top Pakistani authorities were turned away by Kabul who repeatedly rejected their multiple requests over three days. But there is a twist to it all, it is fiction. In the first place, Pakistan did not place such a request. It is the so-called visa denial that is just a figment of imagination by the ones who mastermind it.
This is not a little misconception or a harmless wrong report. It is a calculated and coordinated fake news game that is intended to advance a specific story. The purpose appears obvious, namely, to foster an illusion of tension in the relations between Islamabad and Kabul, and grant India an opportunity to play the role of an educated observer of the situation in the region. The truth is not as dramatic and is much humiliating to the people who believed the lie.
False news does not propagate itself. It propagates due to the fact that there are actors that gain out of it. The media of India, which is usually fast to pounce on any rumour involving Pakistan, found a ready partner in some of the Afghan outlets who were ready to spread whatever would humiliate Islamabad. The result? A fanaticism of headlines, on nothing.
According to the reports, the Defence and intelligence chiefs of Pakistan had been denied access to Afghanistan severally. But there was not even a piece of evidence, no official statement, no trail of documents, no confirmation of Kabul or Islamabad. It did not prevent the rounds of this story, which were sent about with the ease of being a kind of exclusive, or a leak. Following the current times of hyper-competition in the media arena, sensationalism is quicker selling than facts are. The lack of evidence is not much of a hindrance when the intention is to nourish the already established prejudices.
It was not recently, not in any way that Pakistan demanded visas to its Defence Minister or ISI Chief. That’s the simple truth. Paradoxically, it is Afghanistan that has been quietly pursuing interaction, even demands on visits or security and trade coordination. That important fact was omitted in the false news since it destroys the drama that is supposed to be created.
Such disinformation is not aimed at informing, it is aimed at irrigating. By putting the Pakistan case in the context of it being snubbed, the story makers were able to create an image of a government that was losing its relevance with the Taliban, and was finding it hard to cope with the post-US Afghanistan environment. As a matter of fact, the policy of a western neighbour towards Pakistan has always been the same: participation where it can, seriousness over the showmanship and negotiation over the media drama.
This is what is now forming an unnatural new alliance, a propaganda partnership between Indian and some Afghan media circles. The two parties do not see eye to eye in matters of geopolitics, although they have a common ground to make it appear that Pakistan is weak or lonely. It is not new, but the audacity of it is really impressive.
The media industry in India has been the centre stage in the state-sponsored information campaigns. Since there were exaggerated border incidents to imaginary diplomatic rifts, the trend is not new. The only difference is that the Taliban is in the same echo-chamber. The legitimacy and Stock Exchange of the Taliban exposes them to such partnerships. To them, a bit of anti-Pakistan story is a convenient political drama, a distraction to their own lack of achievements and border misfortunes.
It’s not hard to see the timing. Afghanistan has of late experienced a series of embarrassments at its borders, such as efforts to take control and strains that have culminated into trade shocks. This is one of the things that have revealed the poor ability of Kabul to handle relations in this region. Instead of dealing directly with these issues, it is simpler to change the focus by spinning the tales on Pakistan. And India, which is fond of seizing opportunities of this nature, has a ready accomplice.
It allows these outlets to evade the actual problems of Afghanistan, domestic turmoil, financial burden and diplomatic isolation by focusing on creating a false business on how Pakistan is begging to enter and being rejected. The trick is as old as the art of propaganda, when you cannot solve your own problems, create a humiliation of another person.
Even as the rest of the world is engaged in playing media games, the focus of Pakistan is on peace and economic integration of the region. Islamabad is not concerned with headline battles or ego battles. It is more concerned with stabilizing trade routes and border security, keeping the lines of communication open rather than chasing after photo-ops, and addressing every rumour.
This is not exciting news, but that is what responsible statesmanship would appear. Pakistan is aware that it is not fuelling itself with its emotional responses to the disinformation. The more adult reaction is to reveal it, fix the history, and forget about it.
The false story about the denied visa should be used as an example of the functioning of the modern disinformation. It is fast, repetitive, and emotional. A statement that is dramatic when not demonstrated by any evidence will always go further than a sober explanation. It is upon audiences, unfortunately, to challenge the headlines they read and journalists to keep in mind that once lost credibility is near impossible to recover.
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