Parliamentary panel seeks action against 'anti-national' influencers, platforms
A parliamentary panel on communications and IT has directed the ministries of Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology to furnish details of planned actions against social media platforms and influencers allegedly working against national interests. The directive comes amid the country remains on high alert after the Pahalgam terrorist attack.Headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology expressed concern that certain online entities are inciting violence, news agency PTI reported.advertisementIn a move signalling heightened scrutiny of the digital space, the parliamentary panel has specifically sought information on potential bans of such platforms under the existing Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The secretaries of both the I&B and MeitY have been instructed to submit their comprehensive responses outlining planned actions by Thursday, May 8.Following the April 22 terrorist attack in which Pakistan-based terrorists opened fire on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people, the government has taken strong measures to monitor and regulate digital platforms, among other actions. Several YouTube channels and Instagram profiles, including those of prominent critics and celebrities, have been banned.X handles of several Pakistani political leaders, including Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Minister Abdullah Tarar, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and former minister Bilawal Bhutto, have also been withheld in India as tensions between the two nations remain high.advertisementMultiple FIRs were also filed against social media users over their comments about the Pahalgam terrorist attack.Security agencies across the country remain on high alert as tensions escalate between the two nations following the attack. Accusing Pakistan of fostering cross-border terrorism, India has announced a series of punitive measures, including cancelling visas for Pakistani nationals, closing the border and airspace, downsizing diplomatic missions, suspending trade, and putting the Indus Waters Treaty under review, among other steps.Tune InMust Watch
IN THIS STORY#Pakistan
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
India.com
30 minutes ago
- India.com
How Does Pakistan Keep Getting Loans? Unpacking The Dirty Secrets Behind The Global Funding That Shields A Failing State
New Delhi: Pakistan is broke. Its economy is shattered. Foreign reserves are vanishing. Yet it keeps getting blank cheques. Weeks after the International Monetry Fund (IMF) handed it over $1 billion in emergency funds plus an additional $1.3 billion in loans, the nuclear-armed state got another $800 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). India protested. The world ignored. And it is not the first time. Why does a nation with internal chaos and globally infamous for harboring terrorists keeps getting rewarded? Despite global acknowledgment of Pakistan's double-faced policies – begging for aid while exporting 'jihad' – the money keeps flowing. So what makes Pakistan the global community's 'spoiled child with a nuclear button'? The answer is not economic. It is political, strategic and dangerously hypocritical. Let's get this straight: Pakistan is not getting loans because it deserves them. It is getting them because the world is afraid of what will happen if it collapses. Its economy is in tatters. Pakistan's forex reserves dipped in 2023 below $3 billion – barely enough for three weeks of imports. The 2022 floods cost the country more than $30 billion in damages. 1. Too Nuclear to Fail: Pakistan's debt has ballooned to over $130 billion. If it defaults, global banks lose billions. It is financial blackmail that is working. 2. Location: Sitting between China, Afghanistan and Iran, the country holds strategic real estate. The West, especially the United States, does not want it slipping entirely into China's orbit. 3. A Loan with Strings: These are not freebies. IMF and ADB loans come with demands – raise taxes, cut subsidies and sell public assets. Western companies often swoop in to buy the leftovers. Global lending institutions like the IMF and the ADB may present themselves as neutral bodies, but their actions suggest otherwise. They claim to operate on technical grounds, but do not blink twice when handing over billions to a country that fuels terrorism in Kashmir and harbors global fugitives. And where is India in this equation? Despite protests after attacks like Pahalgam, New Delhi's influence is minimal. India's voting share in the IMF is small compared to the United States and Europe. Meanwhile, Pakistan's removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in 2022 made getting loans even easier. The United States sees Pakistan as a pawn in its Afghanistan endgame. China, through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is turning it into a client state. Loans are just the leash – a way to pull Pakistan closer when needed and push it when not. Who Really Benefits? Not the people of Pakistan. Experts like Sushant Sareen argue these loans fatten the Pakistani military, not fuel reforms. Former diplomat Kanwal Sibal warns that the IMF funding indirectly supports terror. Even former Pakistani envoy Husain Haqqani admits that the IMF is an ICU for Pakistan, not a cure. These loans do not save Pakistan. They sustain it just enough to remain a useful mess. A mess that is allowed to fester because it serves the interests of those who pretend to fix it. Pakistan is not only playing the victim, it is gaming the system and the system is letting it.
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Politics Over Dead Bodies': Cong Slams BJP's Resignation Clamour Karnataka CM
/ Jun 05, 2025, 10:12PM IST A political storm has erupted after 11 people were killed in a stampede during RCB's IPL victory parade in Bengaluru. BJP has accused the Karnataka government of criminal negligence and demanded the resignation of CM Siddaramaiah and Dy CM DK Shivakumar. DK Shivakumar, in an emotional press meet, broke down while defending the government's response, accusing BJP and JDS of doing politics over dead bodies. Sambit Patra questioned if Siddaramaiah would face the same action as actor Allu Arjun once did in a similar case. Watch the explosive exchanges and reactions.#bengaluruhorror #rcbstampede #dkshivakumar #siddaramaiah #bjpcongressclash #karnatakapolitics #sambitpatra #tejasvisurya #iplcelebrationtragedy #bjpdemandsresignation #bengalurunews #rcbwin #politicsoverdeaths #alluarjunreference #bjpvscongress #toi #toibharat #bharat #breakingnews #indianews
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Kashmir Will Now Be...': Khawaja Asif's BIG Declaration On Simla Agreement Amid India-Pak Tensions
/ Jun 05, 2025, 10:08PM IST Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has declared the 1972 Simla Agreement 'a dead document,' stating that Pakistan has returned to the 1948 UN position, calling the LoC a ceasefire line. He claimed the bilateral framework with India has collapsed and hinted at a shift toward international mediation. Asif also questioned the status of the Indus Waters Treaty and issued a nuclear warning, saying Pakistan is on high alert. In an earlier TV interview, he had admitted Pakistan's past role in backing terror groups during the Cold War and post-9/11 era, calling it a mistake that damaged the country and its global reputation.#pakistandiplomacy #khawajaasif #simlaagreement #kashmirconflict #loc #unresolution #nuclearalert #pakistannuclear #terrorism #terrorconfession #yaldaakim #indiapakistan #geopolitics #foreignpolicy #southasia #internationalrelations #defencepolicy #bilateralism #multilateralism #pojk #pok #pakistan #india #indiapakistantensions #news #usa #viral #trending #toi #toibharat
