Pakistan urges social media companies to block militant group accounts

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday urged global social media companies to take action to block hundreds of accounts allegedly run by outlawed militant groups that Islamabad claims spread propaganda and glorify insurgents in the South Asian country.

According to Pakistan’s Deputy Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry, groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army—banned by Pakistani authorities and designated as terrorist organisations by the United States—have been using X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram to promote violence in Pakistan.

Chaudhry, who spoke to reporters at a news conference, called on the tech firms to remove or disable these accounts, as well as those run by supporters of the militant groups.

Deputy Law Minister Aqeel Malik, who also spoke at the news conference, said Pakistani investigators had identified 481 accounts associated with the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and the Balochistan Liberation Army or BLA.

The accounts were being used to incite violence and spread hate speech, Malik said.

There was no immediate response from any of the social media platforms to Pakistan’s request. Pakistan itself has in recent years blocked access to X, primarily to curb criticism from supporters of the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan but also to silence other dissenting voices.

The plea comes amid a surge in violence across Pakistan, much of it blamed on the two militant groups and the Islamic State group.

The Pakistani Taliban are allies of—but a separate militant group from—the Afghan Taliban. However, the Taliban takeover of neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021 has emboldened the TTP.

Militant groups also heavily rely on social media platforms to claim responsibility for attacks against security forces and civilians in Pakistan.

By RSS/AP