ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar said on Sunday that authorities had arrested a man accused of allegedly receiving funds from India to run an online disinformation campaign targeting Pakistan, its institutions and the military.
In a televised address broadcast on state media, Tarar alleged that investigators had uncovered evidence showing the suspect received payments from India in exchange for spreading anti-state content through coordinated social media activity.
He said the suspect’s digital marketing business had links with individuals in India and was used to amplify online content critical of Pakistan, its government, security institutions, the armed forces and the army chief.
He alleged that the suspect employed both networks to make the content viral and said Indian-funded troll farms had sought digital marketing services to promote what he described as misinformation campaigns.
The minister also displayed screenshots of financial transactions, WhatsApp conversations and social media posts that he claimed formed part of the investigation.
He alleged the material showed the suspect receiving instructions from an Indian contact on social media engagement, while payments were transferred in small amounts to avoid detection by financial monitoring authorities.
He said the government had launched an investigation into digital payment gateways as part of the inquiry.
Tarar further claimed that the suspect had confessed that much of the material supplied to him related to the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government has recently declared a proscribed organisation after it called for widespread protests on June 9.
Tarar alleged that authorities now possessed “irrefutable evidence” linking the group to India and accused it of attempting to undermine Pakistan’s position on Kashmir and weaken the country’s relationship with the disputed region.
Relations between the AJK administration and the JAAC have remained strained in recent weeks over a range of political issues, particularly the group’s demand for the abolition of 12 reserved seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly. The dispute has led to protests across parts of the region.
Questioning the group’s political strategy, Tarar said those claiming to represent the people of Kashmir should contest elections rather than pursue agitation.
He also alleged that investigators had established that payments for social media content linked to the campaign originated from India.
The minister said the group would have to answer allegations that it had accepted funding from India to run what he described as a disinformation campaign against Pakistan and its armed forces.
Referring to the forthcoming elections in AJK, he said mainstream political parties continued to enjoy public support, which he argued demonstrated that voters had rejected the JAAC’s politics.
He also claimed that Pakistan’s recent diplomatic successes and what he described as its victory during the military confrontation with India in May 2025 had prompted hostile actors to intensify online campaigns against the country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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