Washington, DC – An in-depth report recently released by https://thedisinfolab.org, unveiled the ongoing sinister plan of Khalistani elements along with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan, fuelling the propaganda campaign against India.
All the ingredients for setting up a clandestine info-war against India, were assembled while scouting for a suitable ‘white face’, who could be used as the face for it, according to an interesting in-depth report, “THE UN-ENDING WAR: From Proxy War to Info-War against India.” The elaborate design for the sophisticated but well planned operation was under play since 2007.
The aforementioned report got significance in the light of the much-talked about “The Toolkit,” posted by the young environmentalist Greta Thunberg, which had a ‘foreign expert’ as a resource person. The identical name central to the report regarding info-war against India is Pieter Friedrich.
The operation for successful execution needed a slew of shady companies in the US, fake foreign experts and even ghost entities.
Friedrich was discovered by the masterminds of the operation in 2006-7 as a young Christian Missionary, who seemed to have a decent oratory and writing skills but was still wanting in terms of economic means. According to the report, Pieter was even willing to work as a security guard, and hence the offer to become an ‘expert-activist’ would have been quite lucrative to refuse. Pieter came on board and found a new role as an anti-Gandhi crusader.
Friedrich proved his anti-Gandhi sentiments during recent damages to the Gandhi statues across the US. His statements on the various social media platforms portrayed India as a “fascist” state while trying to discredit its non-violent Gandhian agenda.
To provide credibility to Pieter, a number of institutions and organizations were formed in the US – prominent being the Organization for Indian Minorities (OFMI) in 2007. OFMI was purportedly set up for the cause of minorities in India –but had no Indian or even Indian-origin minority in it. Pieter was also given prominent space in another similar organization, the Sikh Information Center (SIC), which was working for the Khalistani agenda.
To further boost Pieter’s credibility, a number of books under his name or his many aliases – were all published through a company registered by the mastermind operatives in 2007.
Earlier Phase One
The Phase Two design described above seemed almost a replica of what was happening in phase I by the same masterminds, except the weapon was replaced by information.
Uncovering the path trodden by the masterminds, the Disinfo Lab report found the story going far back into the past. “During the turmoil of 1980s, a hitherto unknown Khalistani Bhajan Singh Bhinder @Iqbal Choudhary appears on the scene. He claimed his origins from Malaysia, and was operating from the US. He was essentially funding the terror network for carrying out large-scale violence in various cities in India through another Terrorist Lal Singh with the help of Pakistan’s ISI. Indian escaped the attack by a whisker when Lal Singh got arrested from Dadar railway station. Bhinder was eventually also put in India’s Black-list till 2011,” the report uncovered.
The report goes into details about the attacks and conspirators involved: The attacks were part of a larger conspiracy called K-2 (Kashmir – Khalistan) which was hatched in Lahore under the patronage of Amir ul Azeem, the then Secretary of Jamaat –e-Islami, and being supported by several Pakistani establishment players including Choudhary Altaf Hussain, eventually Governor of Punjab (Pakistan) and uncle of present Science & Technology Minister of Pakistan Fawad Chaudhry.
“While taking the cover of Khalistan, the network works for Pakistani interests,” the report alleged, noting, “The key players on scene during 1990 bombing plans are still around and connected. The network was targeting Indian interest at the global scale, including even Indian origin American politicians.”
At the same time, while in the US, Bhinder and his gang were also involved in a major trans-national drug trafficking network, and a DVD piracy network. In order to fund their drug network, they managed to take control of one of the most prominent Gurudwaras in the US (Fremont Gurdwara), after a bloody fight within the Gurdwara. Fremont receives millions of dollars in contributions from devotees every year.
All this while Bhinder was trying to procure weapons to be sent to India via Pakistan. His quest for arms almost got him in the police net in the US. An investigation by DEA Special Agent Tim Lum revealed that Bhinder was looking for massive fire power to be sent to India. The deal however failed to materialize, as Bhinder got suspicious about the Agent. It was a close call for Bhinder.
Shift to Phase Two
With the change of millennium and arrival of global connectivity through the Internet, Bhinder decided to change his methods. In the early 2000, after the efforts to send weapons to India failed, and with new media and online platforms mushrooming, Bhinder (or the masterminds behind him) decided to shift the focus towards launching an info-war against India. Thus the latest operation to attack India via the web is ongoing.
Gullible or Hands-in-Gloves Partners
Ironically, the report found how some of the “most prolific and influential people in India – from media to journalists and intellectuals- provided a nourishing eco-system to the network in damaging Indian interests.”
Giving benefits of doubt to some players, the report said some of the OFMI and Pieter’s promoters might have been in collusion with him, others might have been fooled by their projections – a White expert and a US based Organization.
Wondering that they fell for “this charade is an irony of epic proportion,” the report highlighted that it would be fair to assume that they would in general be aware about the nature and extent of info warfare in present time, particularly against India.
The modus operandi was standard: get some books published in his name, and a few articles in compliant online ‘news portals’. Create some social media avatars and start connecting with potential amplifiers. In the process build credibility and then hijack the narrative of every possible genuine ground protest to suit their agenda. And they have a singular agenda – to tarnish India’s standing in the world. The report was released by https://thedisinfolab.org, who defined themselves as “a passionate group of people who have pledged to dedicate ourselves to present you with nothing but the true facts and the agenda lying under the deepest segments of fake news.”
Tejinder Singh, Editor, India America Today & White House Correspondent