ISLAMABAD, 17 April 2005 — The Indian media has been reportedly advised by the country’s premier intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), to evolve a strategy to counter Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s better media handling skill, a report said.
“Our objective should not be to deny him (Musharraf) the theater, which he always seeks, but use that to cut him down to size,” the media has been told according to the report. It added that think-tanks affiliated to RAW are scared of Musharraf’s “soft power” image among Indian media persons.
“Musharraf understands the media well and his skill at handling it is better than any other Pakistani leader. He also understands in equal measure the use of the electronic media as a very important component of soft power what impact he would make on public opinion in India including Jammu and Kashmir, and abroad, “ the agency has told the media.
To them the low protocol, but high profile visit of Musharraf is designed to offset the undeniable advantages thus far gained by New Delhi in this war of attrition through soft power, the report said.
“Musharraf has skillfully transformed what he initially projected as a goodwill visit to watch a cricket match between the two countries into a substantive visit for meaningful discussions on Kashmir, with cricket relegated to a minor diversion,” according to an Internet report.
The Indian media has been further advised not to let Musharraf achieve his three-fold objectives, which are to restore the focus in the eyes of the international community on the search for a mutually acceptable solution to the Kashmir question as the only way of averting another military conflict in the region; while maintaining the momentum on the confidence-building measures, which enjoy considerable international support, to draw the focus away from them by projecting them as tactical palliatives without much strategic significance if there is no forward movement in the negotiations on the Kashmir issue; and to redirect the spotlight on the Hurriyat leaders in order to help them recover the lost ground.
Diplomatic observers in Islamabad expect a breakthrough during Musharraf’s current India visit, yet they put a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of Pakistani media managers how to tackle and quell Indian media’s moves aimed at thwarting the impact of the president’s soft power.
