Attaullah Tarar urges X to suspend account over alleged BLA promotional content

Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has called on social media platform X to take immediate action against an account he says is repeatedly sharing promotional material related to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

ISLAMABAD: Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has called on social media platform X to take immediate action against an account he says is repeatedly sharing promotional material related to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

Tarar made the request while tagging X, X Support and X Safety in a post following what he described as a US decision concerning the designation of the BLA and its associated groups as terrorist organisations.

In his post, the minister identified the account as @Waqarkhan and alleged that it had repeatedly published videos promoting the BLA. He urged the platform to remove the account and take action under its applicable rules.

The minister also shared links to three posts that he cited as examples of the material being circulated through the account.

According to the information provided by the Ministry of Information the government has flagged the posts with X and is seeking action against what it describes as online promotion of a proscribed organisation.

A senior ministry official said the government had provided the relevant material to the platform and expected it to examine the content under its policies.

The development follows renewed attention to the BLA and its activities after a series of attacks in Pakistan. The group is already banned by Pakistani authorities.

US terrorist-designation mechanisms include formal listings by the Department of State under US law, with such designations carrying specific legal consequences under US jurisdiction. The State Department explains that Foreign Terrorist Organization designations are made under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and can restrict the provision of material support to designated organisations.

Tarar has argued that social media platforms should prevent their services from being used to promote organisations designated as terrorist groups. He called for what he described as swift enforcement of X’s rules against the account in question.

The government has also indicated that it will continue monitoring social media activity related to the BLA and other organisations it considers a security threat.

The status of the reported US designation and the platform’s response to the minister’s request were not independently confirmed in the sources available for this rewrite. X’s eventual decision regarding the flagged account will depend on its own policies and review process.