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#AuratAzadiMarch2019 - Women take to the streets of Pakistan to rewrite their place in society

Sabrina Toppa

Campaigners will march on International Women’s Day to protest against harassment, child marriage and ‘honour killings’

During Jalwat Ali’s school days in Lahore, there were limited spaces to gather with other women, never mind flood the streets with punchy placards.

Public spaces often feel constricted in Pakistan, as though under critical male scrutiny. But over the past few days, Ali has been recruiting dozens of women, from garment workers to domestic helpers who barely get a day off. “To solve any problem, we need to make a collective effort,” she says.

On Friday, a series of International Women’s Day marches will be held in several Pakistani cities, calling for women’s place in society to be rewritten.

Organisers hope the aurat march (“women’s march”) and aurat azadi march (“women’s liberation march”) will bring a cross-section of society on to the streets to draw attention to the struggle for reproductive, economic, and social justice across Pakistan. The marchers will be protesting against sexual harassment in the workplace, child marriage, “honour killings”, wage inequalities and limited political representation.

The aim is to reach ordinary women in factories, homes, and offices, says Nighat Dad, an aurat march organiser in Lahore.

“We want an organic movement by women demanding equal access to justice and ending discrimination of all kinds,” she says.

Her fellow activist, Leena Ghani, points out that Pakistani women have a history of taking to the streets, famously during military dictator Zia ul-Haq’s martial law in the 1980s: “Many women before us have paved the way for us. There is a tradition of women being politically progressive in Pakistan.”

While Pakistan has made major strides towards gender equality – achieving greater workforce participation, reserved seats in parliament, and anti-discrimination laws for women – poorer, marginalised women and transgender citizens continue to struggle, Ghani says.

Designer Shehzil Malik has created a series of striking posters for the aurat march that counter typical representations of Pakistani women as docile and subservient. “These women mean business,” says Malik.

Speakers at the Lahore march range from a woman fighting to reform marriage laws to the women who worked on the landmark Punjab Domestic Workers’ Act – legislation that outlaws child labour in homes and provides maternity benefits to workers.

“The aurat march will allow us to display unity with other workers and women,” said Arooma Shahzad, a key campaigner on the new domestic workers’ laws.

Others, like Laaleen Sukhera, a writer with three young daughters in Lahore, will march to protest against Pakistan’s regressive family laws. After years of failing to receive adequate child support and alimony, Sukhera’s acrimonious divorce was an unpleasant awakening.

“The time for change is now,” she says. “The Pakistani mindset tends to be Victorian. The system frequently grants mothers custody, but makes life a living hell for them, with little or no support for raising kids.”

Pakistan's schools crisis has 'devastating impact on millions of girls'

Women are also protesting against discriminatory policies in universities, where male and female students are afforded different levels of freedom. “Most university hostels have a relationship of mistrust and constant surveillance of women,” says Wafa Asher, 21, a university student in Lahore participating in the aurat march. “There is over-policing of dress and behaviour and early curfews for women.”

A Pakistani university recently caused a furore on social media by banning women from wearing skinny jeans and sleeveless shirts.

“Given the issues the average Pakistani woman faces – sometimes with nowhere to go – creating a space that recognises a woman’s right to be there is integral,” says Kanwal Ahmed, the founder behind women-only Facebook group Soul Sisters, which has attracted nearly 150,000 people.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/mar/08/women-take-to-the-streets-of-pakistan-to-rewrite-their-place-in-society-international-womens-day

India and Pakistan Are a Brewing Nuclear Nightmare

By James Stavridis

India’s election and Pakistan’s economic crisis are coming at a bad time.

While India and Pakistan seem to have stopped bombing one another, the causes behind the cross-border tensions aren’t going away any time soon. The two nations are nuclear-armed; have large conventional armed forces; have had four serious wars since they became independent in 1947; and have enormous cultural and religious antipathy. This is a prescription for a disaster, and yet the confrontation is flying below the international radar - well below North Korea, Brexit, China-U.S. trade confrontations, Iran and even the “yellow vests” of France. A full-blown war in the valleys and mountains of Kashmir is a very real possibility.

When I was the supreme allied commander of NATO, the most important mission of the alliance was dealing with terrorism in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, our Pakistani partners continued to support many of the radical elements of the Taliban. They were afraid of creeping Indian influence, and much preferred a Taliban-dominated Afghanistan to a more Western-leaning and independent Afghani government. I dealt often with General Ashfaq Kayani, the lean, chain-smoking chief of staff of the Pakistani army (arguably a more powerful position than the prime minister). He frequently came to NATO’s political headquarters in Brussels to brief the combined military leadership of the alliance on the key threat Pakistan faced several years ago – internal terrorism. Yet always hovering over our conversations was the Pakistani military’s deepest concern: India.

The most recent crisis was set off in mid-February when a Pakistani terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, detonated a suicide bomb in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers. It was the deadliest attack on security forces since that insurgency began in earnest decades ago. While the Pakistani government denied involvement in the bombing, India believes it was aware of the incident, and therefore responded with significant airstrikes into Pakistan. Two Indian fighter jets were shot down and a pilot captured. There was an unmistakable echo of the 1947 and 1965 Kashmir conflicts, in which tens of thousands died.

The extremely fragile cease-fire in place for two decades is fraying. Partly this is the result of domestic politics in India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, elected on a Hindu nationalist agenda, is up for re-election in April and May. After the Indian bombing of Pakistani territory, a popular hashtag in India became #Indiastrikesback. This is rare behavior, given that Indian armed forces have not otherwise crossed the so-called Line of Control between the nations since 1971. Former Indian Air Vice Marshall Arjun Subramanian, now a professor at Tufts University, told me, “At the strategic level, the strikes have signaled a heightened resolve on the part of the Modi government to change the response matrix in the aftermath of a confirmed jihadi attack from safe havens in Pakistan.”

Most worrisome, of course, are the significant nuclear arsenals of the combatants. Each has roughly 150 missiles, although only India has a submarine-based ballistic missile capability and thus a true nuclear triad (land, air and sea). Pakistan is developing sea-launched cruise missiles to counter that Indian threat. India has adopted a “no first use” doctrine, although Pakistan – which has smaller conventional forces and thus potentially the need for a more ambiguous doctrine - has not made an equivalent pledge. Paradoxically, the fact that both sides want to avoid a nuclear conflict has probably prevented an escalation on the conventional side during recent crises.

In past conflicts, the U.S. has played a mediating role. But today Pakistan is more inclined to work with China. India has strong relations with both the U.S. and Russia, but is unlikely to turn to either, so as not to appear beholden to any peer “great state.” This tracks with the tendency of the Trump administration to let nations work things out themselves. Other than National Security Advisor John Bolton’s sensible comment that the U.S. supports India’s right to self-defense, the administration is staying on the sidelines. Complicating the picture is that the Washington is trying to enlist Pakistani aid in ending the long war in Afghanistan by reining in the Taliban.

What the U.S. can do most effectively is to quietly encourage both sides to step back from escalation – which Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan did by releasing the captured Indian jet pilot unharmed. We should also offer our intelligence capabilities to both India and Pakistan as each of them deal with the disruptive terrorist groups operating from Pakistani soil - Jaish-e-Mohammed and the even more deadly Lashkar-e-Taiba. The U.S. could also encourage other mediation by allies and international organizations, in particular Saudi Arabia, which reportedly was influential in the release of the Indian pilot. As Hussein Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., recently pointed out, Pakistan in on the verge of an economic crisis. While the Khan government has tried to defuse the situation, in part by appealing to the International Monetary fund, internal pressures are building. Make no mistake: With Pakistan’s economic plight and the upcoming elections in India, South Asia is in a situation in which a military miscalculation, perhaps even a nuclear one, is real possibility.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-03-08/india-pakistan-crisis-a-brewing-nuclear-nightmare

#Pakistan - #PPP - In a historic first, a female legislator chairs Senate session

Senator Krishna Kumari of the PPP became the first woman to chair a session of the Senate on Friday after she was asked by the Senate chairperson to chair the session to mark International Women’s Day.

“Chairman Senate of Pakistan decided to make our colleague Krishna Kumari Kohli aka Kishoo Bai to Chair the Senate for today on Women’s Day,” Senator Faisal Javed tweeted.

"I consider myself lucky today by chairing the Senate session, I salute Pakistan and the people of Pakistan.

Senator Kumari made history after becoming the first Hindu woman to be elected to the Senate. She was elected on the reserved seat for women minorities from Sindh.

She continued to achieve accolades for Pakistan and was featured last year on BBC’s list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world.

Senator Kumari is a member of Sindh’s Hindu community based in Thar. She hails from the family of freedom fighter Rooplo Kolhi.

https://www.samaa.tv/news/2019/03/in-a-historic-first-a-female-legislator-chairs-senate-session/

بلاول کا وزیراعظم کی تقریر پر ردعمل

چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز بلاول بھٹو نے وزیر اعظم عمران خان کی تقریر کا جواب دے دیا۔ اُن کا کہنا ہے کہ اگر وزیراعظم میں ہمت ہوتی تو وہ میری تقریر کا جواب قومی اسمبلی میں ہی دیتے۔

سماجی رابطے کی ویب سائٹ ٹوئٹر پر پیغام میں بلاول بھٹو نے کہا کہ وزیراعظم اسی لہجے و حوصلے سے مودی اورکالعدم تنظیموں سے متعلق بات کریں جیسے وہ اکثر اپوزیشن پرتنقید کرتے ہیں۔

BilawalBhuttoZardari

✔@BBhuttoZardari

I wish our PM could work up the courage to respond to Modi or talk against banned organizations with the same tone he frequently criticizes opposition. Also if he wants to respond to my NA speech should do so in parliament to my face. Cowards talk behind people’s backs.

6,335

6:57 AM - Mar 8, 2019 · Islamabad, Pakistan

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چیئرمین پی پی نے مزید کہا ہے کہ وزیراعظم قومی اسمبلی میں میری تقریر کا جواب دینا چاہتے ہیں تو اُنہیں پارلیمنٹ میں میرے سامنے ایسا کرنا چاہئے، بزدل ہمیشہ پیٹھ پیچھے بات کرتے ہیں۔ 

https://jang.com.pk/news/616442-bilawal-bhutto-hits-back-at-pm-imran-khan

خواتین کا عالمی دن، بلاول کا والدہ کو خراج تحسین

پاکستان سمیت آج ملک بھر میں خواتین کا عالمی دن منایا جارہا ہے، اسی حوالے
سے پیپلز پارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو نے اپنی والدہ کو خراج تحسین پیش کیا ہے۔

سماجی رابطے کی ویب سائٹ ٹوئٹر پر پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زردادی نے ایک نظم شیئر کی ہے جس میں وہ اپنی والدہ یعنی شہید بینظیر بھٹو کو خراج تحسین پیش کرتے نظر آرہے ہیں۔ 

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بلاول نے ٹوئٹر پر شیئر کی گئی اپنی نظم میں لکھا کہ:

وہ دشمنوں پے تیر تھی، وہ بنتِ ذلفقارتھی

سنو، کے اُس کی قبر بھی، فتح کا اک نشاں ہیں

اُسی کے پاس تیر ہیں، اُسی کے ہاں کمان ہیں

اس کے علاوہ انہوں نے نظم کے اختتام پر ہیش ٹیگ کے ساتھ بینظیر بھٹو اور ویمنز ڈے لکھا۔ اور نا صرف یہ بلکہ انہوں نے اپنے ٹوئٹ میں ایک تصویر بھی شیئر کی ہے جس میں وہ، بختاور بھٹو اور آصفہ بھٹو بینظیر کے ہمراہ موجود ہیں۔

https://jang.com.pk/news/616416-bilawal-bhuttos-tweet-on-worlds-women-day

Music Video - Lokan do do yaar banaye - Afshan Aebi

#Pakistan #PPP #Zardari vows continuing struggle for respectable status to #women in society

President Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Asif Ali Zardari Thursday said that his party would continue its struggle for granting a respectable status to womenfolk in the society.

In his International Women’s Day message, he said that the women had played a pivotal role in the development of Pakistan as they hag fought valiantly not only for their own democratic rights but also for the rights of the people of Pakistan.

Women suffered immense hardships during dictatorships in Pakistan but continued to struggle for a democratic, plural, progressive and prosperous Pakistan, said a press release issued here.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto always raised her voice for women’s rights and took several measures to give them equal status in the society.

She established separate women police stations and First Women Bank and reserved quota for women in every department.

PPP initiated Benazir Income Support Program during its government in 2008-2013. PPP provided every opportunity to women so that they could compete with their counterpart, he concluded.

https://www.brecorder.com/2019/03/07/479570/zardari-vows-continuing-struggle-for-respectable-status-to-women-in-society/

#Pakistan - #PPP - #Bilawal As HR Chairman

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was elected chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Tuesday. This decision has been made unanimously by the National Assembly (NA) which is a great sign for the newly elected member of the party. Several political experts had predicted a great political future for the young leader due to his expertise in dealing with the foreign press regarding matters of state and security. This position shows a bright tenure for the young politician because a large chunk of the population is youth and they voice out their concerns via offline and online measures.

Chairman Bilawal Bhutto should thoroughly investigate the human rights issues pertaining to the country. His party has had a long history of siding with the masses and voicing concerns for those being denied basic rights. If only the committee can be mobilised to work on the Articles of the Constitution ensuring basic rights to all the citizens of Pakistan, this will improve the social set up of the country significantly. With the enforcement of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ten-point agenda, the focus will be towards ending extremism and that will automatically improve the human rights gradient of Pakistan.

At the moment, issues which require the urgent attention of the committee are those of female empowerment, prison reforms, enforced disappearances, and extra-judicial killings. These are some of the core issues being discussed on both, social media platforms and in the protests of the civil society. The more the Human Rights Committee is in line with the voice of the youth, the easier it will be to track the changes of time and implement progressive policies without having to look to the West for a model which also lacks cultural sensitivity.

https://nation.com.pk/07-Mar-2019/bilawal-as-hr-chairman

Editorial: #FATF action plan - The scourge of proscribed groups must be eliminated if #Pakistan is to escape FATF sanctions

THE finance secretary has warned that Pakistan risks coming under sanctions if the action plan given to the Financial Action Task Force is not implemented in full. Considering that he was present at the latest meetings of the global terror-financing watchdog held in Paris, and personally witnessed the proceedings, his warnings need to be taken seriously.

The prime minister has struck the right note in emphasising the National Action Plan once again and issuing the necessary orders to seize the assets and halt the operations of proscribed outfits. In the days to come, the resolve behind this move will be tested, and it is important that the government’s focus not be diluted as it moves ahead to clamp down on banned outfits here.

The finance secretary’s remarks suggest that Pakistan had a difficult time at the Paris meetings of FATF last month. Eight organisations were named in the FATF press release issued afterwards. This is unusual, because while these groups have always been at the heart of Pakistan’s dealings with FATF, they had never been named previously.

Pakistan on FATF’s grey list: what, why, and why now?

Apparently in the run-up to the Paris meetings, Pakistan had submitted a terror risk assessment matrix to the Asia Pacific Group, the regional grouping of FATF to which Pakistan belongs. In that, it had designated the eight named groups as ‘low risk’, and this created problems in the Paris meeting. India seized the opportunity and tried to rally countries to put Pakistan on the blacklist with immediate effect; it took strenuous diplomatic pushback from the government to pre-empt that move.

Having narrowly averted being blacklisted in February, the government must not allow history to repeat itself. The same steps have been taken by previous governments as well, only to be allegedly stymied by the powerful handlers that these groups have.

The presence of these groups drove Pakistan towards a difficult position internationally and imposed a steep economic cost as the country’s financial system was flagged as being open to risk of terror financing. The grey listing, as it is known in FATF parlance, was lifted with great difficulty and much wrangling back in 2015 against Pakistan’s commitments of further action against these groups. However, whatever action was taken was clearly not enough, and the country slipped back onto the grey list.

Today, we face the prospect of being put on the blacklist if concrete steps are not evident to what will undoubtedly be a sceptical FATF audience in June. These groups and their existence on Pakistani soil have become much more than a nuisance and an embarrassment.

It is quite clear that none of them should have any presence here. The finance secretary’s remarks need to be absorbed fully and earnest action against proscribed groups must be taken immediately to eliminate the scourge once and for all.

Bilawal appalled at government's 'callous, inhumane' treatment of Nawaz

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Thursday said that he was appalled at hearing of the "callous and inhumane" treatment of imprisoned former prime minister Nawaz Sharif by the government.

"His illness should be treated seriously, be provided with proper medical care and treated with respect," Bilawal said in his tweet.

BilawalBhuttoZardari

✔@BBhuttoZardari

Appalled to hear of the callous and inhumane treatment of imprisoned former PM Nawaz Sharif by the government. His illness should be treated seriously, be provided with proper medical care and treated with respect.

4,500

11:44 AM - Mar 7, 2019

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The statement by the PPP chairman comes a day after Nawaz told family members visiting him at the Kot Lakhpat jail that he had not begged for treatment, nor would he ask for it.

The former prime minister has been imprisoned at Kot Lakhpat jail since December 2018 following his conviction in a corruption reference in line with the Supreme Court’s July 2017 verdict.

Nawaz's mother, his brother Shehbaz Sharif and daughter Maryam Nawaz met the former premier on Wednesday to convince him to be shifted to hospital.

"The insulting behaviour of the government is not acceptable," he said, adding he was being taken to one hospital from another. The former premier lamented that his treatment was not initiated despite reports from five medical boards.

"The government has not yet provided any treatment facility, [I am] only being troubled," he said.

"I will prefer to die honourably, but humiliation is unacceptable."

https://www.geo.tv/latest/230369-bilawal-appalled-at-governments-callous-inhumane-treatment-of-nawaz

منګل او حسنا عنایت - لونگینه وناری - لمر Pashto Music -

USA: Award-Winning Film on Pakistani Physicist Abdus Salam to Screen March 7

Anand Kamalakar, a Brooklyn-based documentary editor, will present his film Salam at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 7, in the Graduate Education Auditorium at the University of Arkansas.

Kamalakar directed and edited the feature-length documentary about the Nobel Prize-winning Pakistani physicist, Abdus Salam.

The film screening is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a talk with Kamalakar and associate professor Daniel Kennefick, a distinguished historian of science in the Department of Physics of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

“It’s a dramatic and visually stunning film,” said Padma Viswanathan, associate professor in the Program in Creative Writing and Translation, who is organizing the screening. “The evening as a whole will be of great interest to anyone interested in storytelling, science, politics or religious history.”

The film combines original footage and interviews with archival material to tell the story of a complex figure.

When Salam won the Nobel Prize in 1979, he became the first Pakistani and the fourth South Asian to achieve this distinction. While Salam’s legacy looms large in the world of physics, he is largely overlooked in his home country because of his faith. Salam was neither Sunni nor Shiite, but Ahmadiyya, a sect deemed heretical by mainstream Islam.

“He’s a tragic figure,” said one commentator in the film. “But then, that is his greatness.”

Mahershala Ali, an Ahmadi Muslim, actor in the recent True Detective series and winner of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Green Book, said the film is “a vital piece of our history.”

And Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai said, “The story of his brilliance needs to be told.”

The film Salam has been an official selection at many prestigious film festivals and won prizes at the Raw Science Film Festival, the Chicago South Asian Film Festival, and others.

http://timesofahmad.blogspot.com/2019/03/usa-award-winning-film-on-controversial.html

PAKISTAN MAY FACE INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS OVER FATF NON-COMPLIANCE: FS

The federal secretary of the finance division Arif Ahmed Khan warned that Pakistan might face economic sanctions over non-implementation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations.

“Pakistan has to proceed against the banned outfits in the light of FATF recommendations,” he said, talking to reporters after attending a meeting of a sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The Finance Secretary expressed apprehensions that Pakistan might face economic sanctions if the FATF recommendations were ignored and not implemented. He stressed Pakistan had to take strict measures to implement the FATF recommendations.
The International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) of the FATF that reviewed Pakistan’s action plan in recent meetings was not satisfied with the progress on milestones set for January 2019. This was despite improvements in the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime and integrated database for currency declaration arrangements.
It expressed concern over Pakistani authorities’ inability to demonstrate why they considered eight proscribed entities to be low risk as opposed to the high-risk view of the Asia Pacific Group (APG) and ICRG.
Therefore, the FATF urged “Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan, particularly those with timelines of May 2019” to address strategic deficiencies. The FATF will undertake the next review of Pakistan’s progress in June 2019, which will be preceded by a face-to-face meeting with the Joint Group in May.
In June 2018, Pakistan made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and APG to strengthen its AML/CFT regime and to address its strategic counterterrorism financing-related deficiencies by implementing an action plan to accomplish these objectives. The successful implementation of the action plan and its physical verification by the APG will lead the FATF to clear Pakistan out of its ‘grey list’ or move it into the ‘blacklist’ by September.
During the meeting of the PAC sub-committee, audit officials said the finance division did not present the supplementary grant of Rs105 million in parliament. The committee was examining the audit paras of the finance ministry.

http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/pakistan/item/36825-pakistan-may-face-international-sanctions-over-fatf-non-compliance-fs

US Cuts Visa Durations for #Pakistani Nationals Amid Indo-Pak Hostilities

In addition to the shortening of visa durations, extra fees have also been introduced for some categories of approved visas, including for journalists and religious workers, according to a Pakistan Today report.

The US has substantially trimmed visa durations for Pakistani visitors, while also increasing visa fees for certain categories of applicants. 

"The US has cut visa durations for some category of Pakistani visitors by four years from five to just one and will not let journalists stay for more than three months without a renewed permit," the Pakistan Today newspaper reported, quoting the US embassy in Islamabad.

he US said it was legally bound to cut down visa validity and hike fees because "Pakistan was unable to liberalise its visa regime for certain visa categories," the report said, quoting the US embassy in Islamabad.

The decision comes amid increased international pressure on Pakistan to clamp down on terror following the 14 February suicide car bombing, claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), in Pulwama, which left more than 40 Indian paramilitary personnel dead.

Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated following the attack, with both launching air operations against one another on 26 and 27 February 2019. While New Delhi claims its airstrikes were aimed against JeM hideouts in Pakistan, Islamabad insists that there were no terror camps in the area bombed by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Pakistan Air Force was simply retaliating in response to the violation of its airspace.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump claimed that his country is involved in mediating between India and Pakistan for the release of the Indian pilot that was in Pakistan's custody following the aerial clash in which an Indian MiG-21 was downed by Pakistani warplanes.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/201903061073001157-us-visa-restrictions-for-pakistanis/

Opinion: The #India-#Pakistan Conflict Was a Parade of Lies

By Farhad Manjoo

The internet contributed to the culture of mendacity in a fight between nuclear neighbors.

The internet truly is super-duper fake, and thanks to the malleability of digital media and the jet fuel of network virality, a digital lie can spread more quickly, and cause more damage, than an analog one.

We all know that. Still, the blame-the-internet formulation has grown useless lately, because “the internet” has become inseparable from everything else. Social networks are now so deeply embedded into global culture that it feels irresponsible to think of them as some exogenous force. Instead, when it comes to misinformation, the internet is a mere cog in the larger machinery of deceit. There are other important gears in that machine: politicians and celebrities; parts of the news media (especially television, where most people still get their news); and motivated actors of all sorts, from governments to scammers to multinational brands.

As these players adapt to a digital politics, they infect and become infected by novel possibilities for misinformation. It is in the confluence of all these forces that you come upon the true nightmare: a society in which small and big lies pervade every discussion, across every medium; where deceit is assumed, trust is naïve, and a consensus view of reality begins to feel frighteningly anachronistic.

You don’t need to travel far to find such a nightmare. But distance can help clarify the picture: It’s easier to appreciate the simmering pot when you’re looking at it from the outside, rather than boiling in it.

And so I spent much of the last week watching a pot boil over on the other side of the world.

In retaliation for a terrorist attack against Indian troops last month, India conducted airstrikes against Pakistan. After I learned about them, I tried to follow the currents of misinformation in the unfolding conflict between two nuclear-armed nations on the brink of hot war.

What I found was alarming; it should terrify the world, not just Indians and Pakistanis. Whether you got your news from outlets based in India or Pakistan during the conflict, you would have struggled to find your way through a miasma of lies. The lies flitted across all media: there was lying on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp; there was lying on TV; there were lies from politicians; there were lies from citizens.

Besides outright lies, just about everyone, including many journalists, played fast and loose with facts. Many discussions were tinged with rumor and supposition. Pictures were doctored, doctored pictures were shared and aired, and real pictures were dismissed as doctored. Many of the lies were directed and weren’t innocent slip-ups in the fog of war but efforts to discredit the enemy, to boost nationalistic pride, to shame anyone who failed to toe a jingoistic line. The lies fit a pattern, clamoring for war, and on both sides they suggested a society that had slipped the bonds of rationality and fallen completely to the post-fact order.

The lies began immediately after Indian forces attacked what they described as a terrorist training camp in a Pakistani town called Balakot. The Indian government offered no visual proof of the effectiveness of its strikes, and there is still debate among Indian politicians about what was hit. Pakistan’s military quickly put out pictures from Balakot showing not much damage.

Indian media, however, appeared eager to fill in a government-friendly narrative. As the Indian fact-checking site Alt News documented, several outlets, including some of the country’s largest TV news networks, aired what they described as exclusive footage of Indian fighter jets attacking Balakot.

Here’s India Today’s breathless coverage of the clip:

Except it wasn’t. The fighter-jet footage was actually first posted online in 2017, Alt News found. It appeared to have been resurrected on social networks last week and then lifted by Indian TV networks as proof of the attack.

Not that Pakistani media were above fakery. After Pakistan’s Air Force shot down an Indian jet and captured a pilot who was later released, Pakistani media began airing images of downed aircraft. Except, as fact checkers documented, the pictures were old, showing wreckage from a previous crash.

You would think fact-checking this stuff would limit its spread. Instead, what happened was that each side weaponized fact-checking, taunting the other for wallowing in lies without acknowledging its own part in all the fakery.

Here are Indian anchors — from a network that pushed its own fake images — sliming Pakistani media with the hashtag #PakFakeClaim:

TIMES NOW

✔@TimesNow

#PakFakeClaim | TIMES NOW EXPOSES PAKISTAN

Pakistan media is using an old Jodhpur crash footage to show it shot down a MiG. | @RShivshankar and @hk_356 with the proof.

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What I’ve shared here is just a taste. If you dive into the tireless fact-checking sites policing the region, you’ll find scores more lies from last week, some that flow across both sides of the conflict and many so intricate they defy easy explanation.
And you will be filled with a sense of despair.The Indian government recently introduced a set of draconian digital restrictions meant, it says, to reduce misinformation. But when mendacity crosses all media and all social institutions, when it becomes embedded in the culture, focusing on digital platforms misses the point.
In India, Pakistan and everywhere else, addressing digital mendacity will require a complete social overhaul. “The battle is going to be long and difficult,” Govindraj Ethiraj, a journalist who runs the Indian fact-checking site Boom, told me. The information war is a forever war. We’re just getting started.