A controversy erupted over the weekend after reports claimed that Bollywood superstar Salman Khan had been declared a “terror facilitator” by Pakistan and placed on the country’s terror watch list. The claim followed viral news suggesting that the actor’s remarks about Balochistan at a public event led to his name being added under Pakistan’s Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
However, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) has now officially debunked the reports, calling them “unverified and false.”
Pakistan Ministry Denies Placing Salman Khan on Terror Watch List
On Sunday, Pakistan’s official fact-checking account under the MoIB shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) addressing the viral claims. The post featured a screenshot of a headline that read, “Pakistan puts Salman Khan on terror watchlist after Balochistan remark.” The ministry overlaid a red stamp reading “Fake News / Unverified” on the screenshot.
The statement clarified:
“No Pakistani government official statement, notification, or entry was found on NACTA’s proscribed persons page or any Ministry of Interior or provincial Home Department gazette notifying Salman Khan’s inclusion in the Fourth Schedule.”
It further noted that all reports appeared to originate from Indian media outlets, none of which cited any official Pakistani source or verified government record.
“In absence of verifiable primary evidence, the claim remains unverified and false. Given the optics, this appears to be a sensational headline rather than a substantiated fact,” the ministry concluded.
What Salman Khan Said About Balochistan
The controversy began after Salman Khan’s remarks at the Joy Forum 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he appeared alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. Discussing the global reach of Indian cinema, Salman said:
“Right now, if you make a Hindi film and release it here (in Saudi Arabia), it will be a superhit. If you make a Tamil, Telugu, or Malayali film, it will do hundreds of crores in business because so many people from other countries have come here. There are people from Balochistan, there are people from Afghanistan, there are people from Pakistan… everyone is working here.”
While many interpreted the statement as a general reference to South Asian workers, some social media users accused him of referring to Balochistan as a separate entity from Pakistan — a politically sensitive topic given the province’s long-standing demands for autonomy.
Understanding the Sensitivity Around Balochistan
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, borders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh, as well as Iran and Afghanistan. It has been at the center of decades-long movements for greater political autonomy and resource control.
According to Amnesty International, over 10,000 Baloch individuals have disappeared since 2011, amid ongoing reports of human rights violations and suppression of dissent.
The region’s political sensitivity often leads to strong reactions to international references, making Salman Khan’s casual mention a flashpoint for controversy — even if unintended.
