The war of words: How Pakistan fights India through narrative warfare

In modern conflicts, wars are not fought only on battlefields. They are fought in the minds of people, through the headlines they read, the videos they watch and the messages they forward. Nowhere is this more visible than in the India-Pakistan dynamic, where Pakistan’s long-standing insecurity and historical grievances have evolved into a continuous campaign of narrative warfare.

Pakistan’s communication behaviour cannot be understood without its past. The trauma of Partition and the loss of East Pakistan in 1971 left behind a sense of vulnerability and bitterness. These wounds created a mindset of insecurity, where India is seen not as a neighbour but as a perennial threat. Further, to mask its internal weaknesses, Pakistan has long sought validation from outside powers. This dependence