Pakistan urges global tech firms to block accounts linked to banned outfits

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has identified at least 481 social media accounts linked to banned terrorist organisations, calling upon global tech platforms to cooperate in blocking these networks.

This was stated by state ministers Talal Chaudhry and Barrister Aqeel Malik at a joint presser in the federal capital on Friday.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said the identified accounts were being operated under anonymous names and unverified IDs. He noted that all the accounts belonged to terrorist groups and said that Pakistan was unaware of their exact origins.

The government, he said, was seeking information from platform operators to help dismantle these online networks, adding that Pakistan remained a wall between terrorism and the world.

Chaudhry further stated that many proscribed organisations under the UN, US, UK, and Pakistani sanctions were freely using these platforms. Referring to the National Action Plan, he said one of its core points was to act against individuals or entities spreading terrorist propaganda via media and social media.

He noted that hardcore terrorist groups were operating online under the guise of free speech and urged the complete blocking and removal of their accounts.

He outlined three specific demands to social media platforms: first, to block and remove these accounts; second, to implement AI-based measures to prevent the rapid creation of mirror accounts, which often reappear minutes after being removed; and third, to share account holder information, noting that such individuals were effectively part and parcel of terrorist activity.

He called for cooperation from all social media operators on these fronts.

Addressing the presser, Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik echoed these concerns, stating that many of the groups involved were not only banned in Pakistan but also designated as terrorist organisations by the United Nations. He said these groups posed a threat not only to Pakistan but also to global peace and stability.

Malik stressed that Pakistan had suffered immensely due to terrorism —not only through loss of life, but also economic and social costs. He said the country had been at the forefront of the global war on terror for over two decades, enduring the loss of more than 90,000 lives.

He added that this ongoing threat had now taken root across a wide range of platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram. It was important, he said, to explicitly name these applications, given their central role in terrorist communication and propaganda.

He added that Pakistan would welcome the establishment of social media company offices within the country to improve coordination and enforcement.

The ministers noted that terrorist organisations had increasingly turned to encrypted messaging services for communication and recruitment. They urged tech firms to implement robust systems for identifying, disabling, and reporting such accounts in line with global counterterrorism efforts.

Malik added that Pakistan was continuing to track additional accounts linked to terror outfits and stressed the need for platforms to assist by blocking and reporting all such activity.