Pakistani PM’s Arabic language Twitter account back online after brief suspension

An image of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Arabic Twitter account shared by government of Pakistan. (Twitter/@abubakarumer)
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Updated 07 June 2022
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Pakistani PM’s Arabic language Twitter account back online after brief suspension

  • @ShehbazAr aims to enhance people to people contact, engagement with Middle East
  • Account was briefly suspended on Tuesday while the social media platform verified it 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s new Arabic language Twitter handle, @ShehbazAr, “temporarily” suspended on Tuesday while the social media platform verified it, was now back online, an adviser to the premier on digital media said.

Pakistan has close ties with many Arab nations, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Around three million Pakistani expats live and work in Saudi Arabia, and are the largest source of remittances to the South Asian nation. The UAE is also the second largest labor market for Pakistan workers.

“Prime Minister’s Arabic account @ShehbazAr is back online. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for showing your concern. You can follow for latest updates,” Abubakar Umer, Sharif’s focal person on digital media, wrote on Twitter.

Earlier on Tuesday, Umer had told Arab News the suspension was temporary and due to a “verification issue.”

“Twitter needs an ID to complete its verification process. It will be provided shortly,” he said.

The Arabic Twitter account, whose first tweet was posted on June 6, aims to promote the prime minister’s activities, particularly those related to religion, culture and Pakistan’s Kashmir dispute with neighboring India.

“The prime minister himself speaks Arabic fluently, so he has a personal interest in the language and the people who speak this language,” Umer said.

Language, he said, was the biggest barrier in enhancing people to people contact with Arab countries and the new handle would prove a “good start” to address the issue.

Umer said the handle had been launched after consultation with embassies in Arab countries, and would help address ‘propaganda’ against Pakistan in the Arabic language on social media platforms.

“We will be addressing it [propaganda] in the same language,” he said, adding that the account could also help Pakistan solicit support from millions of Arabic speaking people on important issues like the Kashmir dispute.

He said almost all leaders in western countries had Arabic language social media accounts to stay connected with people in the Middle East.


Pakistan army hits Afghan Taliban drone storage facility, ammunition depot in Jalalabad

Updated 02 March 2026
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Pakistan army hits Afghan Taliban drone storage facility, ammunition depot in Jalalabad

  • Around 435 Afghan Taliban fighters killed, over 630 injured in Pakistani military offensive, minister says
  • Several countries, global bodies have urged both sides to exercise restraint since the conflict began last week

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army struck a drone storage facility and ammunition depot of Afghan Taliban in Jalalabad, a Pakistani security official said on Monday, following Pakistani strikes on more than 50 locations in Afghanistan amid ongoing hostilities between the neighbors.

Pakistan launched Operation ‘Ghazb lil Haq’ against Afghanistan on the night of Feb. 26 following an attack by Afghanistan on Pakistani military installations along their shared border.

The worst fighting between the two neighbors in years erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad called militant hideouts inside Afghanistan on Feb. 21-22, accusing Kabul of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants behind the attacks on its soil. Afghanistan denies the charge.

A Pakistani security official, who requested anonymity, said the army was continuing “strong retaliatory action” against the Afghan Taliban and blew up multiple border posts, forcing them to abandon their positions.

“Pakistan forces are effectively targeting the bases and military installations of the Fitna Al-Khawarij and the Afghan Taliban,” he said.

“During the effective counter-operation of the Pakistani forces, the ammunition depot and drone storage site of Fitna Al-Khawarij (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban in Jalalabad was destroyed.”

Separately, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said more than 400 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and over 630 wounded in the Pakistani military offensive so far.

Pakistan destroyed around 188 check posts and captured 31, according to a post on X by Tarar. Over 180 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns were also destroyed in Pakistani air raids at 51 locations across Afghanistan.

On Sunday, Pakistani state media shared a video of what it said were Pakistani soldiers crossing into Afghanistan in the northwest to capture an Afghan post. Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area of Afghanistan, another Pakistani security official said.

Afghan officials earlier said that dozens of Pakistani soldiers had been killed and several Pakistan posts had been captured by their forces. None of the casualty figures or battlefield claims from either side could be independently verified.

Since the conflict began last week, diplomatic efforts have intensified, with several countries and international bodies calling on both sides to exercise restraint.

The United Nations, along with China and Russia, has called for calm, while US President Donald Trump said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.