Probe links propaganda networks to operators in India and Afghanistan with the aim of promoting regional mistrust
Iranian people train in Pardisan Park, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 25, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
A coordinated disinformation operation targeting Pakistan has been uncovered involving fake Iranian identities and accounts operated from India and Afghanistan.
The campaign aimed to create a narrative against Pakistan that portrayed the country as aligned with Western agendas and anti-Iran. The operation allegedly started through ghost accounts such as INN Iran News and Iran TV.
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Investigations revealed that accounts creating the narrative were run from India, while those amplifying the propaganda were run from Afghanistan. Artificial Iranian responses against Pakistan were spread through Afghan-run accounts, using the network as proliferators to increase reach.
The propaganda campaign is a strategic, step-by-step operation under the model: Initiator, Proliferator, Amplifier. The false narratives included claims that Pakistan transported oil to the US, which was used to justify the propaganda.
The operation seeks to undermine Pakistan’s role in regional peace efforts and create division and distrust in the Muslim world. The main accounts behind the campaign were traced to India, which managed narrative control and strategic management, with Times of Iran News identified as a central hub.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan remain high, with both sides involved in cross-border clashes and military operations. Pakistan has accused Afghan Taliban-controlled areas of harboring the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist groups responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, while Kabul denies these claims, calling Pakistani attacks a violation of its sovereignty. The cycle of retaliatory airstrikes, cross-border shelling and militant attacks has escalated over the past year, causing casualties, damage to infrastructure and disruption of trade, highlighting the fragile security situation along the shared border.
The disinformation effort represents a coordinated threat involving India and Afghanistan, with potential implications for regional stability. They said the exposure of the campaign demonstrates Pakistan’s vigilance against attempts to manipulate public perception and international narratives.
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Iran is also monitoring the situation closely given the country’s shared border with Afghanistan and Pakistan and the potential for regional spillover. Iran is already at war with the US and Israel as tensions between the countries have sharply escalated, with Iran vowing to retaliate against Israeli attacks on key industrial and nuclear sites that it says were coordinated with Washington. The United States has deployed Marines and elite troops to the region, citing the need to protect strategic interests and maintain freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian missile attacks have targeted Israeli and Gulf facilities, prompting warnings of further escalation.
Tehran has expressed concern over rising cross-border tensions and the impact on trade, security and refugee movements. Iran’s strategic interest lies in preventing instability that could embolden militant groups near its eastern border, while maintaining constructive ties with both Islamabad and Kabul to secure regional relations and economic projects.
