Digital campaigns targeting Pakistan are being run under the pretext of Baloch rights advocacy, using the same tactics exposed in the 2020 investigation by EU DisinfoLab.
The latest operations involve figures and groups such as Mir Yar Baloch, the Baloch National Movement (BNM), and organisations like Paank and Hakpaan, which are operating from Europe but are politically aligned with Hyrbyair Marri, a known leader and facilitator of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
The BLA is a designated terrorist organisation in Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. Despite this, individuals linked with its ideology continue to operate freely online and receive backing from international organisations.
A Familiar Playbook Reemerges
In 2020, EU DisinfoLab exposed a large-scale disinformation campaign run by Indian networks, involving 750 fake media outlets across 65 countries. These platforms, using the names of defunct NGOs and dead academics, were created to spread anti-Pakistan propaganda under the cover of human rights advocacy. The operation was traced to the Srivastava Group, with Asian News International (ANI) playing a central role in amplifying the fabricated content.
Today, the same playbook has resurfaced—this time under the guise of Baloch human rights activism. Digital actors like Mir Yar Baloch, along with organisations including the Baloch National Movement (BNM), Paank, Hakpaan, and Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), are part of a wider campaign aimed at maligning Pakistan’s image internationally.
BNM and Paank: Cover for Anti-Pakistan Operations
The Baloch National Movement (BNM) is presented as a political movement advocating for Baloch rights, but its digital operations raise red flags. Paank, which claims to be a human rights organisation based in France and Geneva, serves as BNM’s lobbying front in Europe. Its head, Dr. Naseem Baloch, is a political asylum seeker in France, yet his organisation appears to have unrestricted access to international forums, digital media campaigns, and event sponsorships during sessions of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
This raises serious questions: How is an asylum seeker funding operations at this scale? Who is providing the logistical and financial support? The answers point toward coordinated foreign backing—most notably from Indian intelligence-linked outfits.
As seen in the Srivastava operation, these groups push anti-Pakistan narratives in global forums under the pretext of civil rights. Their activities are widely promoted through ANI, which has been previously identified as a distribution tool for Indian disinformation.
Mir Yar Baloch: A Digital Asset in Information Warfare
Mir Yar Baloch, active on platform X (formerly Twitter), presents himself as a human rights advocate. However, his content consistently promotes the agenda of Hyrbyair Marri, a known facilitator of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA)—a group designated as a terrorist organisation by Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and others.
Despite this, Mir Yar operates freely on X, spreading BLA-aligned narratives and attacking Pakistan’s state institutions. His account is linked to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which lists him as an adviser for their Balochistan project. Notably, the majority of his followers are Indian, and his content is frequently reposted by Indian media and think tank pages.
This unchecked access to global digital platforms exposes a glaring contradiction: content echoing BLA propaganda is allowed to thrive, while posts linked to groups like ISIS or Al-Qaeda are immediately censored or removed.
Mahrang Baloch and the BYC Connection
Mahrang Baloch, head of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), is another prominent figure in this network. The BYC has shown ideological alignment with the BLA’s separatist narrative. Mir Yar Baloch and others in the same digital ecosystem regularly promote BYC messaging under the banner of rights advocacy, despite the group’s political motives.
International support for this network has grown, with individuals such as Jørgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of PEN Norway and the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, offering platforms to these actors. This association threatens the credibility of global human rights institutions when they are used—knowingly or unknowingly—to promote terrorist-aligned propaganda.
Hakpaan: Swedish-Based Mouthpiece for BLA-Aligned Messaging
The Human Rights Council of Balochistan (Hakpaan), based in Sweden, serves as another hub for anti-Pakistan disinformation. Operating under the facade of human rights, it promotes narratives aligned with BLA sympathisers and receives regular amplification through ANI and affiliated outlets.
Hakpaan’s messaging fits into a broader strategy: portray Pakistan as a violator of human rights while concealing the violent and extremist ideology behind these so-called advocacy groups.
Double Standards on Social Media Platforms
The role of platform X in this disinformation campaign cannot be ignored. While the platform enforces strict bans on extremist content from ISIS and Al-Qaeda, it continues to host and promote content aligned with the BLA—a group equally involved in violence, attacks on civilians, and separatist militancy.
This inconsistency points to a double standard in content regulation. If platforms are serious about combatting extremism, the same rules must apply to all designated terrorist organisations. Selective enforcement only emboldens disinformation networks and weakens global security frameworks.
The resurgence of disinformation against Pakistan, now operating under the cover of Baloch activism, is a continuation of India’s proxy war through non-state actors and digital propaganda. Figures like Mir Yar Baloch, Dr. Naseem Baloch, and groups like BNM, Paank, and BYC are not isolated activists—they are part of a broader campaign to destabilise Pakistan through psychological and information warfare.
These groups rely on digital platforms, international human rights forums, and sympathetic Western institutions to carry forward narratives that undermine Pakistan’s sovereignty and security. The fact that these campaigns mirror the exposed Srivastava Group disinformation model leaves little room for doubt.
The global war against terrorism must also include digital proxies, regardless of who is funding or supporting them.
Editor’s Note
This article is based on open-source intelligence, investigative reports, and published findings by entities including EU DisinfoLab. All individuals and organisations named are referenced in the context of publicly available information.
