The Pakistani state and Afghan Taliban forces recently clashed along the Durand Line—one of the world’s most volatile borders. This development followed Pakistan’s airstrikes in Afghanistan, carried out amid Islamabad’s growing frustration with the Taliban government over continued terrorism emanating from Afghan territory. Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban to prevent terrorist groups from using Afghan land to launch attacks on Pakistan, attacks which have claimed countless Pakistani lives. However, the Taliban have been unable or unwilling to shore up their regional security, causing growing tensions with their neighbour.
The Afghan Taliban have long sustained accounts on a variety of social media platforms to spread propaganda, including on X. Since the recent ceasefire in late October, the Taliban have intensified their online campaign on X, spreading fake news, fabricating statements, and operating fake accounts while impersonating officials from regional countries.
The Taliban’s online presence and public messaging are more visible on X than on most other major social platforms, partly because many other platforms have restricted or banned Taliban-linked accounts. They have accounts of varying types, ranging from those sharing official statements to spreading extremist narratives and engaging in propaganda against countries it considers rivals, particularly Pakistan.
The Taliban, which seized control of Kabul in 2021 and now governs as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, has supported a proxy campaign against Islamabad through groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur network. Now, it has intensified its online information war against Pakistan through digital platforms, especially on X. For more than two decades, the Taliban have been specially designated global terrorists by the United States, and the TTP and Hafiz Gul Bahadur groups are also their long-time allies.
This Insight explores how the Taliban exploit X to advance its extremist narratives and destabilise the region through its propaganda.
A Host for Propaganda
Despite X’s rules on safety, including removing “any accounts maintained by individual perpetrators of terrorist, violent extremist, or mass violent attacks”, the Taliban maintain official and affiliated accounts on X that actively disseminate propaganda. While the Taliban does disseminate its narratives through state-run media outlets, X allows them to conceivably reach a larger audience beyond their borders.
One account is available in multiple languages and has been active since 2023, and has more than 10,000 followers. This account has been constantly posting content against Pakistan and its military. In its October 26 post, it called on the Pakistani people to confront the military and falsely spun a narrative that there is a plan to turn Pakistan into a Christian state.
Figure 1. Taliban-run propaganda account urges Pakistani people to confront the military.
This account has been flagged by X users as one that aims to undermine the Pakistani government. This tweet (Fig. 1) was meant to incite people against the Pakistani government.
Figure 2. An X user highlighting a Taliban account disseminating content detrimental to Pakistan.
Taliban-linked X accounts also post about the Durand Line – an internationally recognised border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. This border has remained contentious since the creation of Pakistan. Successive Afghan governments have played on the Durand Line to incite nationalist sentiments on both sides in pursuit of their interests. The Taliban are doing the same, but on X, it posts that they would take over parts of Pakistan, which they claim belong to them, to make what they call “Greater Afghanistan”. This trend has intensified following the recent clashes.
Figure 3. Taliban-linked X account posting to remove the internationally recognised border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Issuing Threats
Some of the Taliban accounts openly threaten Pakistan on X. One account posted an image of buildings burning with a threat issued to Islamabad, and one can infer innocent civilians as well.
Figure 4. A Taliban X account threatening Islamabad with an attack.
Another Afghan Taliban-linked account issued a similar threat against Islamabad around the same time, although the post was later deleted. Subsequently, there was a suicide bombing in Islamabad that killed 12 and injured 27. While there is no evidence of a direct link between the social media posts and the attack, statements issued by Taliban-linked accounts on X nevertheless signalled an escalation in hostile rhetoric directed at Islamabad. Pakistani authorities later stated that the perpetrators had links to Afghanistan.
While these are a few prominent accounts, there are dozens of other Taliban-linked accounts on X that threaten the Pakistani government, infrastructure, and civilians by proxy with attacks.
Recently, the Taliban accounts again resorted to threatening Pakistan on X, with some accounts posting to target Islamabad. The Taliban also showcase their army on X and promotes their Jihadist narratives.
Creating Diplomatic Havoc: Fabrications and False Claims
As part of their broader propaganda efforts, Taliban-linked accounts routinely disseminate falsehoods and fabricated narratives meant to inflame tensions. For example, they recently asserted that an attack had taken place at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad – an incident for which no evidence exists and which Pakistani authorities confirmed did not occur.
Figure 5. A fake letter circulated by Taliban accounts about Tajikistan banning NRF activities.
The Taliban also recently circulated a letter in the name of the president of Tajikistan on what appeared to be official letterhead. The letter stated that the activities of the National Resistance Front (NRF) were banned in Tajikistan. However, the Tajik foreign ministry responded that it was fake and no such statement had been issued. The NRF is an anti-Taliban resistance group in Afghanistan, with its leaders in exile in Tajikistan.
Taliban propagandists also made a fake account and attributed it to the intelligence chief of Tajikistan. In one tweet, the Pakistani army chief was urged to ‘remember the history of Afghanistan and pursue peace’. This was not something a responsible official would do, and it prompted criticism. As a result, the account changed its name and handle.
What’s even more troubling is that the post by the fake Tajik intelligence chief account was quote-retweeted by the former US special representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad. Khalilzad played a major role in the US peace deal with the Taliban. This shows how easily fake content on X is mistaken for genuine content and shared by well-known individuals, thereby increasing the risk of being influenced by terrorist propaganda.
Figure 6. Prominent figure Zalmay Khalilzad quote-tweeted a fake Taliban account post.
Furthermore, the Taliban has also made an account impersonating the interior minister of Tajikistan. The account, however, vanished after posting about Pakistan’s responsibility to tackle the Islamic State. The same post also urged Pakistan to refrain from conflict with Afghanistan and pursue peace. Through these activities, the Taliban are aiming to impair relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan, block future Pakistan-Tajikistan ties, and create regional diplomatic instability.
Creating fake accounts of foreign officials by the Taliban is not a new tactic. Previously, the Taliban made an X account in the name of the Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan. The account gathered some following and engagement, but was later dismissed as fake, and then it was suspended by the platform. The aim of creating that account was also to impair relations between China and Pakistan, as it posted on a sensitive refugee issue in Pakistan. From that post, an Indian media outlet, Hindustan Times, also published a story.
Given Pakistan’s strong relationship with Turkey, and Ankara’s role in mediating talks between Pakistan and the Taliban, Taliban-linked accounts on X have attempted to undermine this partnership by circulating false claims of a rift between Pakistani and Turkish intelligence services.
Meddling in Pakistan’s Internal Affairs
On X, the Taliban also comment on Pakistan’s internal affairs. They often post about the mistreatment of Pakistani religious groups and ethnic minorities – mainly Pashtuns, an ethnic group based both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Taliban are composed largely of Afghan Pashtuns, and their propaganda deliberately targets the Pashtuns in Pakistan in an effort to drive a wedge between them and the broader Pakistani population, inflaming ethnic tensions.
Not only do the Afghan Taliban post about Pashtuns, but about Baloch people as well —focusing on Pakistan’s mistreatment of Baloch people. Here again, they aim to turn the Baloch people against Pakistan.
When Pakistan launched a crackdown on Tehreek e Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in early October, the Taliban’s spokesperson issued an official statement on X condemning the state’s actions. This drew the ire of Pakistani authorities and, in reaction, the Pakistan foreign office urged the Taliban government not to interfere in Pakistan’s affairs.
Figure 7. Taliban spokesperson posted a thread to condemn a crackdown on TLP.
The Taliban have also been supportive of the largest opposition party in Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). PTI is hostile towards the country’s military. The Taliban have been trying to capitalise on the party’s opposition to Pakistan’s military and weaken Pakistan. When Pakistani authorities launched a crackdown on the PTI’s protest in Islamabad last year, Taliban accounts posted fake content about the killing of protestors. In an attempt to trigger anarchy in Pakistan, the Taliban accounts also recently spread fake news on X that PTI’s chairman, Imran Khan, has been killed – creating panic amongst the PTI followers.
Figure 8. Taliban account posted AI content about the killing of PTI protestors in November 2024.
Conclusion
While X has suspended some Taliban-linked imposter accounts, including one falsely using the name of the Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, it needs to do more to curb the spread of prolific and unchecked misinformation and propaganda by extremist actors. Many Taliban-affiliated accounts have thousands of followers, allowing their narratives to circulate widely. If these accounts remain active and their activities go unmoderated, the consequences could extend offline. Social media, X in particular, has become a key arena in which discourse is formed, policies are shaped, and public sentiment is mobilised. In this context, sustained exposure to inflammatory and misleading content can heighten interstate tensions.
The risk is not hypothetical: China and Japan only recently had a diplomatic row triggered by a Chinese diplomat’s violent X post, which was deleted later. This underscores how online provocations can carry real diplomatic consequences. The Taliban also use X to promote their jihadist teachings to a global audience, further amplifying the stakes of platform inaction. Therefore, stronger moderation of Taliban-linked accounts would not only benefit the region, but would contribute to a safer global information environment.
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Osama Ahmad is an Islamabad-based journalist and researcher. He writes about regional security, geopolitics, organized crime, technology, gender disparities, political violence, militancy, conflict and post-conflict, democracy, human rights, climate change, and ethnic nationalism. His works have been published by The Diplomat, Geo News, The New Humanitarian, The Jamestown Foundation, FairPlanet, South Asian Voices, The Express Tribune, The News on Sunday, and The Friday Times. He tweets at @OsamaAhmad432.
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