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Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the X (formerly Twitter) accounts of prominent Pakistani figures Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have been suspended in India.
According to official sources, the accounts were withheld due to the dissemination of anti-India and inflammatory content in light of the recent security situation.
India had earlier taken similar action by restricting access to the official X account of the Pakistani government, as well as the accounts of Defence Minister Khwaja Asif and Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar. The latter had recently alleged that India was preparing a military strike, citing what he described as “credible intelligence.”
These moves come in the aftermath of a brutal terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which left 26 dead and many injured. The assault, attributed to the terror group The Resistance Front, has significantly heightened bilateral tensions.
In response, the Indian government has cracked down on digital misinformation by banning 16 Pakistani YouTube channels accused of spreading provocative, false, and communally sensitive content targeting India’s military and security forces. The decision was based on recommendations from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The banned channels include several major Pakistani media outlets such as Dawn News, ARY News, Geo News, SAMAA TV, and BOL News, along with others like GNN, SUNO News HD, The Pakistan Reference, and political commentators including Irshad Bhatti, Muneeb Farooq, Asma Shirazi, and Umar Cheema. These platforms reportedly had millions of viewers and were accused of circulating unverified information aimed at inciting panic and disturbing public harmony within India.
Following the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as a “cowardly assault on innocent civilians,” prompting swift and strong retaliatory measures. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), led by Modi, announced a series of high-level responses.
These include the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, closure of the Attari-Wagah border crossing, cancellation of the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani citizens, expulsion of Pakistan’s military attachés from New Delhi, and a reduction in diplomatic personnel at both countries’ embassies.
These sweeping actions underline India’s firm stance against cross-border terrorism and its commitment to national security and public order.
