ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday called on global social media companies to immediately block accounts operated by proscribed terrorist groups that are spreading harmful propaganda and extremist content on their platforms.
In a joint press conference, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, along with Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik, urged social media companies to take swift action against accounts linked to banned terrorist organizations, which are operating on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and WhatsApp.
The request comes after a statement on Wednesday from Talal Chaudhry, who highlighted the growing concerns over a particular terrorist group using WhatsApp channels to spread hateful content. Chaudhry appealed to the global community and social media firms to aid Pakistan in its fight against terrorism, stressing the need for immediate intervention.
“We call upon social media operators to cooperate with us in blocking these accounts, preventing the creation of mirror accounts, and sharing relevant information about the account holders behind these activities,” Chaudhry said. He mentioned that these groups include those banned by the United States, the United Kingdom, and sanctioned by the United Nations, and that they are actively using social media platforms to propagate violence.
Citing the National Action Plan (NAP), which was formulated in 2014 to combat terrorism, Chaudhry reiterated that it’s essential to take action against those spreading terrorist ideologies on both traditional and digital media. As part of NAP, the government has committed to taking measures against the glorification of terrorism and ensuring that social media does not become a platform for such acts.
Chaudhry further urged social media companies to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to identify and block such accounts automatically, ensuring that they are removed swiftly. He emphasized the importance of cooperating with law enforcement agencies to counter these online threats.
Minister of State for Law and Justice, Barrister Aqeel Malik, shared details of the government’s findings regarding terrorist group accounts on social media. “We have identified 481 accounts linked to proscribed groups, and we have already reported these to social media platforms,” Malik said. He echoed Chaudhry’s concerns, calling for the use of AI to detect and prevent the creation of new accounts by these groups.
Malik also emphasized the importance of creating better coordination between social media platforms and Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies to tackle this new digital threat. “We are on the frontlines in the war against terrorism, and we face new challenges in the digital realm,” he said. He encouraged social media firms to set up offices in Pakistan for better coordination, adding that the government is keen to improve its collaboration with these platforms.
The government pointed out that several notorious terror organizations, including Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), have a significant presence on social media. These groups have been banned by major international powers, including the US and the UK, and continue to use social media for recruitment, propaganda, and coordination.
Malik further warned that these terror groups are not only operating under their real identities but are also using pseudonyms to amplify their presence online. “This poses a grave threat not only to Pakistan but to global security as well,” he said.
The Pakistani government remains committed to combating terrorism, both on the ground and in the digital space. With growing concerns over the misuse of social media by extremist groups, Pakistan has reiterated the need for a robust and coordinated global response to eliminate these threats and ensure the safety of citizens worldwide.
