Hosting a confessed terrorist like Ehsanullah Ehsan under the pretext of open debate is not free speech — it’s the digital normalization of extremism.
A recent X Space hosted by Adil Raja — a fugitive residing in the United Kingdom — featured Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesperson of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The session, streamed globally, turned into a platform for a confessed terrorist to promote disinformation under the guise of “open debate.”
Ehsanullah Ehsan endorsed Raja’s claim that the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) operates from Pakistan as “a project against the Taliban.” Within hours, several Indian media outlets published reports echoing the same line — portraying Pakistan as a hub of ISKP activity. The timing and coordination were too deliberate to dismiss as coincidence.
A Terrorist Given a Global Platform
Ehsanullah Ehsan is a confessed terrorist responsible for some of the worst atrocities in Pakistan’s history — including the 2014 Army Public School massacre in Peshawar, which killed 130 children, and the 2012 attack on Malala Yousafzai. His participation in a public discussion hosted from the UK raises serious concerns about how convicted terrorists continue to access global digital platforms without restriction.
Under the UK’s Terrorism Act 2006 and Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, facilitating or promoting the speech of a proscribed terrorist may constitute dissemination of extremist propaganda. This is not political expression; it is the digital normalization of terrorism disguised as free speech.
The British government must clarify how its territory and digital infrastructure are being used to amplify extremist narratives that directly undermine Pakistan’s counterterrorism sacrifices. Allowing a confessed terrorist such visibility is not freedom of expression — it is negligence.
Coordinated Disinformation
The timing of the discussion coincided with Afghan interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India. Just before his trip, Indian outlets circulated reports alleging ISKP’s presence in Pakistan — suggesting that the narrative seeded by Raja and Ehsan was part of a broader disinformation campaign aimed at shaping diplomatic messaging.
This pattern is familiar. Over recent years, disinformation networks have repeatedly targeted Pakistan — recycling unverified claims through social media and foreign media platforms to create the illusion of credibility. Such hybrid operations seek to discredit Pakistan’s counterterrorism record and divert attention from the real threat emanating across the border.
Facts Tell a Different Story
Contrary to Raja and Ehsan’s claims, the 36th Report of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team identifies the TTP — not ISKP within Pakistan — as the principal regional threat. According to the report, the TTP maintains around 6,000 fighters inside Afghanistan, receives logistical and operational support from the Taliban regime, and maintains tactical links with ISKP and Al-Qaeda. It also highlights growing cooperation between the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), including shared training camps in Afghanistan’s Kandahar region.
These verified facts dismantle the false narrative that ISKP is operating from Pakistan as a state project. Instead, they expose how such claims are designed to distort realities on the ground and manipulate international perception.
The Cost of Looking Away
Pakistan has lost more than 80,000 lives to terrorism. Allowing those responsible for such atrocities to reappear online as “commentators” insults victims and erodes global counter-extremism efforts. When fugitives and terrorists use Western digital platforms to coordinate narratives and exploit loopholes in free speech laws, the result is the normalization of hate and radicalization.
Platforming Ehsanullah Ehsan on a UK-hosted X Space was not free speech — it was the amplification of extremist propaganda. The synchronization between Raja’s online activity and Indian media coverage reveals a coordinated information operation against Pakistan.
The UK government and global social media companies must act. Granting digital space to extremists is not neutrality; it is complicity. Freedom of expression must never become freedom to radicalize.
