It seems tensions between Pakistan and India have spilled over into cyberspace following recent friction at the Line of Control. In response to what India alleges as “recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan at the Line of Control (LoC) along Jammu & Kashmir”, Indian hackers attacked the official website of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on October 8. The hackers posted pictures and memes on the website taking shots at and making fun of party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. This seems to be in response to comments he made about Kashmir saying, “I will take back Kashmir, all of it, and I will not leave behind a single inch of it because, like the other provinces, it belongs to Pakistan.” At the time of publishing, the PPP website is still down and cannot be accessed.
On October 9 in what appeared to be a retaliatory effort, alleged Pakistani hackers attacked the Press Club of India’s website. In a somewhat incoherent tirade, the hackers expressed that not all Muslims are terrorists and that “We Just Want To Publish Our Message!” The homepage was altered with photo-shopped images and cartoons targeting India’s newly-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to The Times of India, “Since Wednesday, Twitter in Pakistan is abuzz with anti-India tweets with #CowardModi, #Indiaisterrorist, #SayNoToBollywood tweets trending top. Indian tweeples replied to the tweets with #BuzdilPakistan even as the tension at the border refuses to cool down.”
Aaghaz-e-Dosti, an Indo-Pak friendship group aimed at fostering peace between the two countries, has since released a statement urging internet users on both sides not to further ignite tensions saying, “We must know that for both the countries, peace is of utmost importance and also our common need is to being focused on development rather than spending huge money of taxes for arms and ammunition. We also see that through reducing such tensions, both of us can save billions of rupees and can divert this amount for development. We believe that any dispute can be resolved only by talk and mutual negotiation and agreements and not with violence”.
Why can’t we all just get along?