Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stated on 28 April, six days after the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack that killed 25 Indian and one Nepali tourist, that a military incursion by India was imminent, with the Indians blaming Pakistan for an attack on a location 200 kilometres from the Line of Control (LoC). On 7 May at 1:44 AM, India attacked nine sites in Pakistan, with 26 fatalities as per an initial assessment.

The ceasefire was declared by Us President Donald Trump on 10 May effective 5 PM Pakistan time, followed by Ishaq Dar’s confirmation on X, formerly twitter, banned in Pakistan making one wonder who his target audience was, and within the hour by the Indian government.

War propaganda is a tool used to demoralise the general public of the adversary, though the narrative that was effortlessly controlled by governments before the pervasive onset of social media is no longer possible, as indicated in the Israel-Palestinian and Ukraine-Russia conflicts.

However, while mainstream media may engage in propaganda the veracity of social media is also suspect, especially subsequent to the use of Artificial Intelligence.

One member of Pakistan’s national assembly stated on Thursday on a private channel that during the session a fake rumour spread that there was an Indian drone strike in Islamabad which spread fear amongst the members, and he urged the media not to air such news - an exhortation sadly that shows his lack of understanding of the........

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