Pakistan should prepare itself to meet challenges of disinformation: Masood Khan
Islamabad: Former president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan has said that Pakistan should prepare itself to meet the challenges of misinformation and disinformation in the age of artificial intelligence.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Sardar Masood was addressing a seminar at the Centre for Law and Security (CLAS) in Islamabad organized by a leading policy think tank.
Drawing from his extensive diplomatic experience and global perspective, Ambassador Khan emphasized that “disinformation is as old as warfare itself, but artificial intelligence has given it unprecedented reach, speed, and sophistication.”
Reflecting on his long association with internet governance since his role as Chair of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) on Internet Governance in 2005, Masood Khan underscored how disinformation, historically considered a “legitimate weapon of war,”
He cited examples from global and regional history, including wars between India and Pakistan and the information operations surrounding the global war on terror, to highlight how narrative-building has always played a central role in national security. “Today, AI-driven content, deep fakes, and algorithmic manipulation have made perception management a battlefield in itself,” he said.
Sardar Masood Khan elaborated on the distinction between information warfare and disinformation, noting that the former involves building a nation’s narrative and legitimacy during peace and conflict, while the latter involves the deliberate distortion of facts.
“Disinformation feeds on speed. Before a false story can be corrected, millions have already seen and believed it,” he observed. He warned that unchecked disinformation campaigns could weaken national unity and distort public understanding of geopolitical realities.
Outlining the strategic response, Masood Khan called for “authentic actions on the ground, systematic narrative-building, and national cohesion from north to south, east to west.” He said that effective counter-disinformation strategy must begin with internal nation-building — unifying the country politically, economically and socially — and must be supported by state capacity and citizen awareness. “If a nation is fragmented, its narrative will collapse under external manipulation,” he cautioned.
Citing recent information conflicts with India, Masood Khan contrasted Pakistan’s disciplined and credible communication with what he termed “India’s exaggerated and farcical propaganda.”
He noted that India’s disinformation attempts during recent crises backfired, as even Indian citizens and global media questioned official claims.
