Saturday, March 29, 2025
Pakistan Clarifies: Salman Khan Not Declared a Terrorist, Viral Reports Are Fake
Islamabad | October 29, 2025 | by Gill bjs
Over the past few days, social media was flooded with claims that Pakistan had declared Bollywood superstar Salman Khan a “terrorist” and placed him on its terror watchlist following his comments on Balochistan. The reports sparked outrage across India and confusion internationally. However, Pakistan’s government has now officially denied the claims, calling them completely false and fabricated.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) in Islamabad issued a clarification, labeling the viral reports as “fake news.” The ministry’s official fact-checking unit posted on platform X (formerly Twitter) that no such designation had ever been made by the Pakistani government.
A screenshot circulating online had shown a fake news headline claiming: “Pakistan places Salman Khan on terrorist watchlist after Balochistan remarks.” The MoIB’s response included the same image, stamped clearly with the words “FAKE NEWS / UNVERIFIED.”
In its statement, the ministry said:
“There is no official statement, notification, or entry from the Government of Pakistan regarding Salman Khan on the NACTA Prosecuted Persons page or in any Gazette issued by the Interior Ministry or provincial home departments. The claim is unverified and false. It appears to be a sensationalized headline rather than a fact-based report.”
The controversy reportedly began after Salman Khan’s appearance at the Joy Forum 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. During a conversation about Indian cinema’s global appeal, the actor mentioned Balochistan while referring to people from different regions working in the Middle East.
Salman said:
“If you make a Hindi film and release it here (in Saudi Arabia), it becomes a superhit. Even Tamil, Telugu, or Malayalam films do very well because so many people from other countries live here — people from Balochistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan… everyone works here.”
The casual reference to Balochistan as a separate region reportedly angered some Pakistani social media users, sparking misinformation that the government had blacklisted the actor.
However, the Pakistani government’s official clarification has now confirmed there was no legal action, listing, or terrorism-related charge against Salman Khan.
