Asif Mahmood
I have repeatedly noticed that whenever I post about Kashmir on Facebook, I receive6 a notification saying that my content has been restricted in India under local law. At first, I thought it might be an isolated incident. It was not.
The latest example was particularly revealing. I posted about the Punjab government’s donation of green buses to Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Shortly afterwards, Facebook informed me that the post had been blocked in India under Indian law. A post about public transport was considered sensitive simply because it referred to Kashmir.
This raises an important question. How has India developed a system under which global social media companies enforce its domestic legal sensitivities? More importantly, why has Pakistan failed to secure similar recognition for its own legitimate concerns?
Pakistani officials have recently spoken about coordinated online campaigns originating from India against Pakistan and its state institutions. Reports have also surfaced claiming that writers and commentators have been offered substantial payments to produce content targeting Pakistan. Whether through disinformation networks or coordinated influence campaigns, the digital battlefield is no longer a matter of speculation.
The real question is not what India is doing. We all know Indian dirty game very well. The real question is what Pakistan is doing in response.
Has Pakistan formally engaged Meta, X, and other major platforms to explain its national security concerns? Has it presented evidence of coordinated networks spreading disinformation against Pakistan? Has it asked these companies to apply Pakistani law and legitimate security considerations with the same seriousness that they apply India’s?
If such engagement has taken place, the public deserves to know its outcome. If it has not, then the absence of a coherent digital policy has become a serious national issue.
This debate is not about restricting legitimate opinion. It is about organised campaigns, disinformation, and hostile digital operations directed against a state. Many Western countries actively enforce their own community standards and legal restrictions online. India also ensures that content it considers sensitive is blocked within its jurisdiction.
Pakistan has the same right to protect itself against coordinated cyber and information warfare. Repeating that hostile campaigns are being run from abroad is no longer enough. The country needs a clear strategy to engage global technology companies, defend its legitimate interests, and respond effectively to organised digital attacks.
The question is straightforward: what is Pakistan’s policy, and when will it be implemented?