Daily Times

Psychological Operations (PsyOps) are a military technique to demoralize the enemy by conveying selective information through groups and individuals by manipulating their emotions, thought processes, and behaviours. Essential features of PsyOps include: clear mission, defined targets, rapid exploitation, reliable communication, and recurrent appraisal. They may take any shape or form at national, regional, group or personal level but their purpose is always to weaken the spirit of the opponent.

PsyOps are planned for a maximum impact. We appreciate some of its examples in joint military exercises, aircraft landings on motorways, and surgical strikes, etc. Immediately after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, 21 million leaflets with 33 different messages using a building block approach (the first leaflet was about peace; the last about abandoning equipment and desertion)were used. Feedback from interviews with enemy prisoners was used to measure the success of these “leaflet-bombs”.

PsyOps have three types: tactical, strategic, and for consolidation. The term may have replaced another called propaganda. In 2010, it was dropped for “Military Information Supply Operations,” or MISO, which was abandoned because it reminded people of a green soup from Japan. PsyOps are a lethal weapon whose effectiveness is limited only by imagination. Intelligence reports, field studies, defectors, native assistance, and the enemy prisoners of war are its effective aides. It is sometimes confused with brainwashing; others think the field is a closer cousin of public relations. A commander in Afghanistan once directed a PsyOps team to help him manipulate visiting US senators to supply more funds and soldiers for the war.

Among PsyOps legends, a British radio station, during the World War II, posed as a German propaganda station. Instead of boosting morale, the station actually broadcasted information to undermine German confidence. The first British servicewoman to die in Afghanistan was a member of the PsyOps unit. Following the invasion of Iraq in 2003, PsyOps took radical forms. Pte. Lynndie England, was jailed for being photographed with Abu Ghraib prisoners in humiliating positions. She claimed that she was set up by a PsyOps unit to spread fear.

For the first time in a democratic rule, everyone in Pakistan is on the same page which has PEACE written all over it. Hindustan, unfortunately, is in danger of losing this opportunity once again because, barring a miracle, Mr Modi is set to form the next government. It is in his gift to do a U-turn but his ego is going to make him take time to agree to the negotiations.

PsyOps specialists are always in search of ways to take over the “hearts and minds” of enemy soldiers and civilians. The idea is that truth might be spun, but outright lies destroy the operational credibility. The techniques employed are no hoax – American researchers have worked on a hologram of Allah, which they can project over a city and make him say anything to them. During the Iraqi conflict, the US acknowledged that they had pioneered fantastic methods of interrogation such as exposing prisoners to full-blast Metallica music.

PsyOps have also been blended into hybrid warfare. The latter is a military strategy where politics, diplomacy, economy, media, and cyber-attacks, etc. are used with conventional warfare to achieve desired outcomes. It is no secret that the US and Russia have been at it for a few years now, and China is not far behind. As a part of it, even non-state actors have got armed with technologically advanced systems (satellite phones, use of dark-web) and relatively cheap weapons to become a force to be reckoned with. The way a tiny Hezbollah took on the might of Israel in 2006, and was perceived to have been victorious, has inspired other smaller groups fighting for just or unjust causes around the world.

Pakistan and Hindustan are engaged in a hybrid war for over a decade now. Hindustan’s doctrine of “bleeding Pakistan to death” had gained momentum, and got intensified under Ajit Doval, after Mr Modi came to power. Pakistan eventually started its fight back in 2014 after the Peshawar School incident where 140 children lost their lives. Pakistan Army went after the militants and the enemy assets hiding in the towns, jungles and mountains and has killed or captured most of them. It also started making sure that those were also hit,at home and abroad, who sponsored the miscreants directly or indirectly. The build-up to recent tensions and the outcome of air combat between both countries is a watershed moment where tables have literally been turned.

Psy Ops can take weird forms when they arrive in the subcontinent. Hindustan has been so jittery that they harass genuine tourists, captures stray pigeons, and even incarcerate very young children for being spies. They decided to take matters to a different level of absurdity by sending a few magicians into Pakistan to cast spells on leading government and military figures a few years ago. No prize for guessing what could have happened next – these idiots were caught red-handed. We would think that Pakistan authorities had laughed at this prank, and closed the file. However, we often underestimate how widespread ignorance and fool hardiness can be, and how they get frantically pursued in the name of national interest.

I am not revealing a national secret here because this information is already in the public domain. Our wise-guys apparently pondered over the matter endlessly, and then decided to counteract by producing our own set of Sufi warriors. The urgency of this undertaking was enhanced due to the perceived successful spells cast on some members of the ex. ruling family. What happened from there onwards reads like a badly written thriller or watching a horribly directed Bollywood film because the paranormal wars between both countries were then fought on different unseen fronts only to evaluated by the commanders with suitable qualifications. The current word on this spooky-street is that Pakistan did not win the recent battle-in-the-sky because of superior skills and war-readiness, but due to the squadrons of Jinns fighting alongside them.

You and I may laugh at the above shenanigans but it highlights the seriousness of paranoia, stupidity and danger we and the rest of the world are exposed to. Something must be done by someone (anyone please) to stop this vicious cycle of squandering money and losing human lives while people on both sides suffer from fear, poverty, backwardness, and disease. For the first time in a democratic rule, everyone in Pakistan is on the same page which has PEACE written all over it. Hindustan, unfortunately, is in danger of losing this opportunity once again because, barring a miracle, Mr Modi is set to form the next government. It is in his gift to do a U-turn but his ego is going to make him take time to agree to the negotiations. This would be alright under normal circumstances, but multidimensional forces beyond solitary control have been unleashed following the recent skirmishes between both countries where something will really have to give. We are only going to become a black and white choice after six months: war or peace.

The writer is a Political Psychiatrist. He tweets @AamerSarfarz