From a Pakistani perspective, a number of reasons for the lack of knowledge of IOK.

Thread. https://twitter.com/keashurkot/status/1385416886976921600

1. Disinformation campaign by India. Indians have a huge narrative building capacity, they are working on building a narrative that Kashmiris in the valley are not pro Pakistan and that they view Pakistan in the same way they view India. I have witnessed this personally with

some Pakistanis saying valley Kashmiris dont like Pakistan anyways so why should we continue fighting wars for them. This is a minority of Pakistanis ofcourse but the disinformation has certainly worked to a degree. Last year, EU disinfo lab revealed the levels to which India is

going to discredit Pakistan in the international community. Their machinery of deception is vast and unending.

2. Pakistan has been involved in a brutal war and insurgency in consequence of America's WOT. This has divided the State's attention to other fronts.

More of the media's focus has been on Afghanistan situation, TTP, BLA and other such Indian backed proxies in our country.

3. Our volatile politics in the country. Politicians are constantly at eachother's throats. They would rather spend their

time point scoring against their opposition than spend time talking about Kashmir issue.

4. Lack of people to people contact with Kashmiris. This is a big issue, we are not hearing from Kashmiris directly. Previously it was even hard to tell which Kashmiri accounts were real.

This goes back to point 1. Spaces has been amazing I got to hear from Kashmiris themselves and their struggles and stories and it was revealing.

5. Pakistani has been infiltrated. This I see as the most dangerous point. Pakistan saw an influx of NGOs. These are often fronts

for anti state activities. We are seeing swathes of fake propaganda about "human rights abuses". Pakistan is not perfect and has many problems, but some of this propaganda are outright lies, used to malign the State and erode its narrative on various issues, one being Kashmir.

For example, the same sources that were exposed by EU Disinfo Lab were spreading lies saying Pakistan killed Karima Baloch, an exiled Baloch dissident. She was in Canada at the time! The Canadian police noted in their investigation as well as autopsy that death was of natural

causes. Yet these peddlers of fake news were blaming the State. The same NGOs provide a local cover for these propaganda campaigns with local Pakistani journalists writing for Indian newspapers against Pakistan. One of their favorite topics is to soften India's occupation by

referencing Pakistan's internal issues. Classic whatabouttery. Even though Kashmir is a disputed territory and not a domestic issue. The State is paralyzed to deal with this topi drama, because when they do, international headlines are made that Pakistan is opressing speech, etc.

You will notice, our media is not responsible even when it comes to matters of national security. There are countless examples of irresponsible reporting, fake news, and downright peddling Indian narratives. This is the level of infiltration I was speaking about.

Just some of my observations and opinions on an average Pakistani's level of understanding of the IOK situation and various factors which effect and formulate mass opinion.

Having said that, the lack of knowledge does not translate into lack of passion. Most Pakistanis are

taught from a young age, that Kashmiris are our people. There is an immense level of brotherhood and empathy for Kashmiris. We respect your heroes Geelani, Wani, Yasin, etc... and we long for the day our country is complete.