Until a few months ago, then Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ‘digital warriors’ were at the forefront of propagating Pakistan’s state narrative on national security and foreign policy.
Digital strategy became a “regular feature” on the agenda of national security meetings. “To fight the disinformation war against Pakistan, there was strong coordination through the Stratcom [strategic communications] committee, convened under the former National Security Division [NSD], where the ISPR [Inter-Services Public Relations], Foreign Office and the DMW [digital media wing] worked together to decide on a narrative,” former focal person to the prime minister on digital media, Dr Arslan Khalid, tells Eos.
Established in August 2020, the digital media wing of the information ministry was tasked with enhancing the presence of the government’s digital assets and also promoting the government’s messaging on digital media.
Even the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) critics cannot deny its formidable command of content engineering. From documentaries, to explainers and partnerships with security think tanks, a range of content displayed how well they could utilise digital media.
While in office, Imran Khan’s tech-savvy PTI dominated social media, promoting its messaging and the state’s narrative. After Khan’s ouster, however, the state is finding it difficult to control the same strategies employed against it. But the larger question remains: does online presence translate to real support?
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