The North News
New Delhi, April 28
The Centre government has formally conveyed its concerns to the BBC over the broadcaster’s use of the term militants instead of terrorists in its reporting following the deadly Pahalgam attack. Officials said a formal letter has been sent to the BBC objecting to the language used, arguing that it downplays the severity of the terror attack. Terrorists have killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam on April 22. The External Publicity Division of the Ministry of External Affairs has been monitoring the BBC’s coverage.
The move follows sharp criticism in the United States, where the House Committee on Foreign Affairs condemned a New York Times story that also described the terrorists as militants. The committee accused the newspaper of failing to accurately characterise the violence as terrorism.
In a parallel move, the Indian government has taken action against the spread of misinformation related to the attack. On the recommendation of the Home Ministry, 16 Pakistani YouTube channels have been blocked in India. The banned platforms include major news outlets such as Dawn, Samaa TV, ARY News, Bol News, Raftar, Geo News, and Suno News, along with channels operated by journalists Irshad Bhatti, Asma Shirazi, Umar Cheema, and Muneeb Farooq. Other affected channels include Pakistan Reference, Samaa Sports, Uzair Cricket, and Razi Naama.
The government said the measures are intended to prevent the dissemination of misleading content about the attack and protect public order.
