KARACHI: India has blocked access to X accounts of former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari amid rising tensions between the two countries, Indian media reported on Sunday.

Users accessing both accounts in India see a mes­sage stating the acco­unts were withheld “in response to a legal demand”.

PPP condemned India’s move to block the account of the party chairman. In a statement on Sunday, a PPP spokesperson said India’s action was a retaliation for Mr Bhutto-Zar­dari’s “unequivocal and bold stance on the Pahalgam incident” which he had presented before the international community.

The press release issued by the Bilawal House media cell said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was afraid of Mr Bhutto-Zardari. “It also proves that India is an undemocratic country and its prime minister is an extremely cowardly person,” the statement added.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s narrative on the Pahalgam attack “unsettled the Indian prime minister”, the PPP spokesperson said, adding that it was Mr Bhutto-Zardari who first exposed the “Butcher of Gujarat” before the world, and he would continue to hold up a mirror to Mr Modi’s war-mongering mindset.

Since the Pahalgam attack on April 22, the Indian government has blocked a number of social media accounts belonging to the Pakistan government, news channels, content creators, film stars, sportspersons and journalists. The accounts were blocked on YouTube, X and Instagram.

X, formerly Twitter, has been banned in Pakistan since February 2024.

Syed Irfan Raza in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2025