Minister Announces Arrest of Digital Marketer Accused of Disseminating Anti-State Content Funded by India

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced on Sunday the detention of an individual accused of distributing anti-state material on social media in return for financial support from India.

In a televised address broadcast on state media, the minister revealed that security forces had previously apprehended a digital marketing professional whose business operations were allegedly tied to interests in India.

The minister alleged that the suspect had accepted payments from India to operate a “network of misinformation” within Pakistan.

The minister noted that Indian-funded troll farms active on social media frequently enlist digital marketing services.

Tarar accused the digital marketing specialist of utilizing bot networks to amplify “anti-state content and material targeting Pakistan, its security apparatus, government, military leadership, and governmental institutions” across social media platforms.

The minister additionally presented screenshots of financial transactions and posts purportedly linked to the misinformation campaign, which allegedly promoted sectarian violence, recent unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and anti-state and anti-military elements.

The minister stated that the suspect had engaged in a WhatsApp conversation with his Indian handler, during which they discussed post views and exchanged financial details and account credentials, Tarar claimed.

“Modest sums were transferred in small increments to avoid detection by financial monitoring units,” Tarar stated, adding that the government is currently scrutinizing digital payment gateways.

The minister further claimed that the individual had confessed to receiving the majority of the content pertaining to the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a group the government subsequently banned as a proscribed organization after it called for widespread protests on June 9.

Thereafter, the minister shifted his focus to what he termed the “JAAC-anti-state nexus,” asserting that the now-proscribed group sought to undermine the Kashmir cause and weaken Pakistan’s relationship with the territory.

By establishing a connection between the arrested suspect and the JAAC, the minister asserted that the government possessed “irrefutable evidence” of the group’s ties to India.

Over the past month, the regional administration and the JAAC have been in conflict over various issues, most crucially the committee’s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the territory’s Legislative Assembly, which has sparked widespread protests across the region.

“If they genuinely care about the Kashmir cause, why do they not participate in elections, engage in the electoral process, and advocate for the people’s concerns?” the minister questioned.

“What motive does India have regarding Kashmir through this digital marketing campaign? […] Data confirms that all payments for the social media material originated from India.”

Tarar stated that the group was now “answerable to the entire nation for accepting funding from an adversary […] and waging a disinformation campaign against Pakistan and the military out of animosity.”

“Their collaboration with anti-state elements is now utterly transparent,” he claimed.

He further noted that political parties in AJK were campaigning ahead of the upcoming elections, with “large numbers of people voicing their support” for them.

He cited this as evidence that the people of Kashmir had “rejected JAAC’s conspiratorial politics” and “demonstrated that Pakistan’s relationship with Kashmir cannot be undermined or severed.”

The minister claimed that Pakistan’s recent internationally recognized diplomatic achievements, alongside its defeat of India in the May 2025 conflict, were “difficult for its adversaries to accept,” which is why groups such as the JAAC emerge.

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