December 16th is a date deeply tied to Pakistan’s history. From the loss of East Pakistan in 1971 to the tragic APS Peshawar massacre in 2014, it reminds us of the heavy price of division, wrong decisions, and conspiracies. Today, in 2024, while the wounds of 1971 feel slightly less painful due to the political changes in Bangladesh, the day brings more conspiracies.

Imran Khan, the jailed former prime minister, has hinted at starting a civil disobedience movement from today if talks fail—though no negotiations with the government have even begun, despite PTI’s fake claims to grab headlines. The fear of this call is so intense that the government has declared a public holiday, citing it as a precautionary measure due to security threats. This highlights yet again the danger of false narratives and propaganda in an already struggling Pakistan.

PTI’s deliberate weaponisation of disinformation seeks to provoke instability and weaken Pakistan’s state institutions and social fabric.

The dangers of such calls for anarchy are not limited to physical disruption; they penetrate deeper into the national psyche, eroding trust in state institutions and creating fractures that foreign and domestic elements alike can exploit.

However, what compounds the peril is the deliberate weaponisation of disinformation by PTI, a party that has consistently blurred the lines between political activism and anti-state propaganda. Their “factory of fake news,” as it is often referred to, has now set its sights on creating fissures between Pakistan’s key political and institutional actors—this time targeting the presidency and the prime minister.

In the past week, PTI operatives have unleashed a calculated disinformation campaign to drive a wedge between President Zardari and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, exploiting old grievances and concocting baseless narratives. It started with Muhammad Ali Durrani and Barrister Saif making calculated appearances on TV channels, pushing the narrative of a conspiracy within the presidency to unseat the prime minister and elevate Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as the new prime minister.

This claim falls apart when scrutinised against parliamentary numbers, exposing it as pure propaganda. Their lies do not stop here. In private conversations, PTI parliamentarians have floated the bizarre proposition of supporting Bilawal as prime minister—on the condition that President Zardari grants a pardon to Imran Khan in the unlikely event of a military trial.

However, no such trial has even commenced, nor is there any realistic likelihood of Imran Khan facing the death penalty, despite his orchestration of chaos, particularly his involvement in the events of 9th May and his continued conspiracies to destabilise the state. This disinformation serves a singular purpose: to create fractures in a government that, despite all odds, remains united against PTI’s destructive agenda.

Their social media brigades have amplified baseless claims surrounding Senator Faisal Vawda’s recent statements, which were critical of the PML-N while favouring the PPP, alleging that he is acting on behalf of the establishment. However, anyone familiar with Vawda’s fiery nature and tendency for straightforward, unfiltered remarks knows he is not the kind of individual who orchestrates conspiracies.

Claims of a conspiracy between President Zardari and PM Shahbaz Sharif are baseless and serve to fuel political propaganda.

He acts impulsively, often saying exactly what he feels without calculated thought. Further, they muddied when Sher Afzal Marwat, a PTI parliamentarian, was photographed with Governor KP Faisal Karim Kundi in the office of Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. The photograph was twisted into “proof” that the presidency, influenced by Zardari, was conspiring to destabilise the federal government—a narrative utterly detached from reality.

To discern fact from fiction, I contacted multiple high-level sources across government and institutional corridors, from the presidency to the Prime Minister, his Office, Governor KP, PMLN ministers, PPP sources, and other relevant quarters of the establishment. After rigorous inquiry and analysis, the conclusion was unequivocal: no such conspiracy exists.

On the contrary, President Zardari and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif are navigating one of the most harmonious civil-military collaborations in recent history. This unity is vital for stabilising Pakistan, especially with ongoing foreign investments from allies like China and Saudi Arabia, which hinge on political and economic stability, as witnessed in the historical rise of the Pakistan stock exchange.

So why, then, does PTI persist in peddling such dangerous narratives? The answer lies in its strategic use of disinformation to provoke instability and weaken the state. By targeting the presidency—a symbol of the federation—and the prime minister, PTI seeks to exploit any perceived cracks in the coalition government.

Their goal appears twofold: to rekindle Zardari’s historical tensions with the establishment, referencing his infamous 2016 statement against the military leadership, and to fracture the cohesive working relationship between the president and the prime minister.

This strategy, however, is not just about domestic politics; it carries a broader agenda. PTI’s social media campaigns, often orchestrated by operatives abroad, amplify their falsehoods on an international stage, seeking to delegitimise Pakistan’s institutions in the eyes of foreign stakeholders. They have actively lobbied in the US Congress, the UK Parliament, and international news media, twisting facts and manipulating narratives to extract statements and resolutions favourable to their agenda.

From fabricating the so-called ‘Islamabad massacre’ to calls for boycotts of military-linked products like Fauji cornflakes, PTI has shown an alarming willingness to undermine national cohesion. The absurdity reached new heights with online campaigns urging people to divorce spouses serving in the military—a grotesque attempt to widen societal divisions and fracture the social fabric of Pakistan.

PTI’s propaganda campaigns target the military and exploit domestic grievances to fracture national unity and delegitimise state institutions.

What makes this even more ironic is that PTI itself was once the product of military patronage, elevated to power through a carefully managed hybrid regime. Today, the same institution finds itself under relentless attack from its former protégé, with PTI’s propaganda machine churning out narratives aimed at eroding public trust in the military.

This duplicity underscores the party’s opportunism and readiness to weaponise any issue for political gain. That is the reason that I always point out that their fight with the establishment is not for civilian supremacy. Their agenda focuses on eliminating the current Army chief, Asim Munir, and bringing back Imran Khan for whatever it takes and costs.

Yet, the state’s response to this propaganda onslaught remains disappointingly reactive when PTI and their parliamentarians like Shandana Gulzar openly accused the military of killing their protestors without showing any proof. While necessary, the government’s press conferences and rebuttals are insufficient to counter the scale and sophistication of PTI’s disinformation campaigns.

The government’s inability to decisively address these challenges has not only emboldened PTI but also left Pakistan vulnerable to internal and external exploitation. Even today, as schools and colleges remain shut amid fears of unrest, the state remains under significant pressure—a stark reminder of the high stakes involved.

Therefore, Pakistan’s current leadership—both civilian and military—urgently needs to adopt a more initiative-taking and unified approach to combating this disinformation epidemic. Slowing down the internet or banning social media apps is not the solution; the authorities must actively engage with international actors to rebut the propaganda and share the facts.

This includes leveraging digital tools to counter fake news, enacting legal reforms to hold propagandists accountable, and fostering greater transparency to rebuild public trust. The state must also recognise that PTI’s tactics are not merely a political nuisance; they are a continuous calculated assault on Pakistan’s democratic fabric and institutional integrity.

The state must counter disinformation with transparency, digital tools, and international engagement to protect Pakistan’s democratic fabric.

Ali Amin Gandapur, the PTI’s chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, openly threatened to arm their supporters against the state yesterday, a reminder of the extremist path PTI is willing to tread. Such threats cannot be taken lightly, particularly in a region as volatile as Pakistan, where history has repeatedly shown how militancy and lawlessness can spiral out of control.

One cannot ignore the haunting parallel with Syria, where a small faction of 20,000 rebels managed to topple Assad’s regime. PTI’s failed attempt in November to demonstrate similar tactics in Pakistan under the guise of civil disobedience and protests is a stark warning of the lengths they are willing to go to destabilise the country.