New Delhi: The Indian government has strongly objected to the BBC's description of the recent Pahalgam terror attack, criticising the British broadcaster for calling it a "militant attack."
In a formal letter to BBC India's head Jackie Martin, the government conveyed its displeasure and informed the network that the Ministry of External Affairs would closely monitor its future coverage.
Government Objects to Language Diluting Terror Attack
In the article titled "Pakistan suspends visas for Indians after deadly Kashmir attack", the BBC described the brutal killing of 26 Indian tourists as a "militant attack." In response, Indian officials wrote to the BBC, highlighting how the terminology used undermined the severity of the terrorist act.
This move comes just days after similar criticism emerged in the United States. The US House Foreign Affairs Committee publicly slammed The New York Times for using the term "militants" instead of "terrorists" in its coverage of the Pahalgam attack.
In a post on X, the committee corrected the phrasing, writing, "Hey, @nytimes we fixed it for you. This was a TERRORIST ATTACK plain and simple. Whether it's India or Israel, when it comes to TERRORISM the NYT is removed from reality."
Additionally, another BBC headline drew widespread backlash on social media. The article titled, "Pakistan suspends visas for Indians after deadly Kashmir attack on tourists," was criticised for making it appear like Indians were responsible for carrying the attack.
"Wow. BBC makes it sound like India killed Pakistani tourists in Pahalgam! How much lower can they fall," a user wrote on X. Have a look:
Indian Govt's Crackdown On Cross-Border Misinformation
As part of a series of measures taken after the Pahalgam terror attack, India has also banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels accused of spreading misinformation and provocative narratives against India. According to government sources, these banned channels had a combined subscriber base of over 63 million.
Among those affected was the popular channel run by former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar, who had 3.5 million subscribers. Officials said the decision to block these platforms was made on the recommendations of the Ministry of Home Affairs to curb the spread of false information and inflammatory content originating across the border.
This comes two days after the I&B Ministry issued an advisory urging all media outlets, including news agencies, digital platforms, and social media users, to avoid live coverage of any military operations or security force movements.
