India has directed social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to block more than 8,000 accounts in the country, a move the company has described as government-imposed “censorship.” The decision, revealed in a statement by X’s Global Government Affairs team on Thursday, comes amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following deadly cross-border confrontations.
X confirmed that the Indian government issued executive orders requiring the platform to withhold access to thousands of accounts, including those belonging to Pakistani politicians, celebrities, media outlets, and even some international news organizations. The platform said non-compliance could result in severe penalties, including potential jail time for its local employees.
“This is not an easy decision,” the company said. “However, keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians’ ability to access information.” X added that it strongly disagreed with the government’s demands, criticizing them for lacking transparency. In many instances, X said, no evidence or justification was provided for the blocks.
The orders coincide with similar actions against other platforms. Just a day earlier, Meta removed a popular Muslim news account from Instagram at the request of Indian authorities.
X emphasized that entire account blocks go beyond what is necessary, warning that such actions amount to censorship and infringe on free speech. Due to legal constraints, the platform said it could not disclose the official orders, but it urged affected users to seek legal redress through Indian courts.
The crackdown comes as military exchanges between India and Pakistan have intensified, particularly along the disputed region of Kashmir. More than 50 people have been reported killed in recent clashes. Tensions surged after New Delhi accused Islamabad of supporting a deadly attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir, a claim Pakistan has denied.
Amid the growing hostility, India has also banned several Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly promoting provocative content. Prominent Pakistani entertainers such as Fawad Khan and Atif Aslam, as well as star cricketers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, have reportedly been barred from appearing on Indian media platforms.
Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) has raised alerts over potential cyberattacks, warning citizens about threats to email systems, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps. This week, the X accounts of both the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Karachi Port Trust were hacked, with the latter falsely reporting an Indian military attack before the account was restored.
The surge in digital censorship and misinformation has added a volatile online dimension to the long-standing geopolitical rivalry between the two nuclear-armed nations.
