India is once again resorting to its old nefarious tactics of manufacturing false terrorism-related narratives against Pakistan. This is now becoming increasingly predictable and it is good to see the Foreign Office swiftly dismissing these allegations stating that some detached purported incidents are being presented as a “so-called terror plot”.

In a desperate attempt to piece together a narrative against Islamabad, a section of the Indian media has been reporting that India has intercepted a message from a Pakistani WhatsApp number in addition to seizing an empty boat in Maharashtra along with some weapons. First, the veracity of these claims needs to be ascertained given the track record of the Indian media when it comes to pushing fake news. Second, there is nothing to suggest that these incidents are part of grand plan, but the sensationalist media is pushing preposterous claims of a ‘Mumbai style’ attack being orchestrated.

On top of this, the media is also embellishing these reports by claiming that intelligence and border forces were on high alert for possible cross-border infiltration attempts along Rajauri. The Foreign Office is right in saying that this is nothing but the continuation of India’s sinister plan to yet again raise the ‘terrorism’ bogey to malign Pakistan. We have witnessed these very machinations in the past as well. There have been no incidents of any infiltration taking place along the border and this propaganda campaign shows how New Delhi is desperately attempting to deflect attention from the growing discourse around India’s human rights violations in IIOJK.

India was actively campaigning to ensure that Pakistan remains on the FATF list. India must recognise that such attempts cannot distract from the real issue at hand, which is the deteriorating situation in IIOJK. Even EU leaders are now starting to raise serious concerns about what is taking place on the ground, and it appears that New Delhi is certainly feeling the heat. The international community should also take note of these Indian tactics of false flag operations as they can pose serious threats to peace and security in the region. India must be urged to act as a mature and responsible actor.