Are Pakistani accounts capitalising on Nupur Sharma row to promote anti-India trends?

India Today’s Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team has analysed the tweets and identified patterns that suggest the possibility of a coordinated effort to manufacture outrage.

Nupur Sharma’s comment on Prophet Mohammad during a TV debate has drawn flak from across the globe. On Twitter, a deluge of tweets under a number of hashtags targeted the former Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesperson and the Indian Prime Minister.

While tweets came from several Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, a large number of tweets that attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP came from Pakistan. India Today’s Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team analysed these tweets and identified patterns that suggested the possibility of a coordinated effort to manufacture outrage.

Sharma’s comment was condemned by many Pakistani government officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who tweeted about it on June 5.

I condemn in strongest possible words hurtful comments of India's BJP leader about our beloved Prophet (PBUH). Have said it repeatedly India under Modi is trampling religious freedoms & persecuting Muslims. World should take note & severely reprimand India. Our love for the >

Around the same time, many Pakistani Twitter handles started criticising the BJP and Indian government. Pakistani journalists and government officials used several hashtags in these tweets.

One such hashtag that trended in Pakistan was #____ -- this roughly translates to “Messenger of God or Modi”. This trend ranked at second place among other Pakistani Twitter trends. The hashtag continued to trend for the next two days and was the highest trending one in Pakistan on June 6 and June 7.