Pakistan: Economic Ministry X Account Hacked

The Government of Pakistan on Friday announced that the official X (formerly Twitter) account of its Ministry of Economic Affairs had been compromised, following the appearance of a post appealing for international financial assistance in light of escalating tensions with India.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a “FAKE TWEET ALERT” confirming that the account had been hacked. A government official further stated that efforts were underway to disable the account.

The unauthorised post, attributed to the Economic Affairs Division, made an appeal for additional loans from the international community, citing “heavy losses” due to recent hostilities with India. 

It read: “Govt of Pakistan appeals to International Partners for more loans after heavy losses inflected by enemy. Amid escalating war and stocks crash, we urge international partners to help de-escalate. Nation urged to remain steadfast.” 

The misspelling of “inflicted” as “inflected” in the message prompted suspicion, as such errors are rarely seen in official government communications.

The message came at a time when Pakistan’s stock market had experienced a sharp downturn, with the Pakistan Stock Exchange dropping more than 6,000 points on Thursday. However, the market showed signs of recovery on Friday, gaining over 1,000 points in early trading.

The timing of the post also coincided with a scheduled meeting of the International Monetary Fund’s executive board, which was set to review the release of the next tranche of a $7 billion loan package agreed upon last year. 

Pakistan is expected to receive over $2 billion from the IMF as part of the second instalment, along with a new loan intended to address the economic effects of environmental challenges.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, speaking to a media outlet, said, “We did not tweet it,” adding that the ministry was “working to have the X (account) switched off.” As of the latest reports, the post remained active on the account.

The post emerged amid rapidly deteriorating relations between Pakistan and India, following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, in which 26 individuals — primarily male tourists — were killed. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting nine militant locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold in Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba base in Muridke.

Later, on Thursday afternoon, the Indian Ministry of Defence reported that Indian armed forces had thwarted Pakistani efforts to strike military sites in 15 cities across northern and western India using drones and missiles.

By nightfall, Pakistan escalated the conflict further by launching a barrage of drones and missiles across Indian border regions in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Rajasthan. 

Cities affected by the attacks and subsequent blackouts included Jammu, Udhampur, Gurdaspur and Chandigarh.

According to the Defence Ministry, the Pakistani military attempted to target multiple locations including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai and Bhuj. In retaliation, India deployed kamikaze drones and succeeded in destroying a Pakistani air defence system stationed in Lahore.

On Friday, the Indian Army released its first visual confirmation of a Pakistani military position being destroyed in strikes along the Line of Control (LoC). 

The Army reported that Pakistani drone and missile attacks during the night had been effectively repelled along the western border in Jammu and Kashmir. It also stated that retaliatory actions were carried out in response to ceasefire violations as part of Operation Sindoor.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the escalation had originated with the Pahalgam terror attack and confirmed that Indian strikes targeted only terror infrastructure. 

He described India’s actions as “non-escalatory, precise, and measured.” Misri also noted that 16 civilians had been killed in regions including Poonch due to Pakistan’s missile and drone strikes.

According to defence sources, Operation Sindoor has resulted in the deaths of over 100 terrorists in Pakistan and PoK.

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