Late evening yesterday even as India and Pakistan exchanged heavy fire, including downing of two Pak jets and several drones, the News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) issued an advisory to its member-channels to avoid reporting of troops movement or live updates of military assets.

“Further to instructions from MOIB (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting), we request all editors to strictly avoid reporting any movement of troops or military assets, including timing, routes, or deployment details,” the NBF advisory stated.

NBF is one of India’s largest industry associations, representing the combined interests of over 300 TV news channels.

Few days back NBF had requested its TV news member-channels to desist from having Pakistani guests on their news shows or giving a platform to people espousing Pakistani viewpoints.

Yesterday’s communication added, “Please do not disclose blackout periods (start/end times) or any operational specifics in your news bulletins. Such disclosures can pose serious national security risks.”

NBF also stressed that TV news channels should exercise “full editorial restraint and verify sensitive content” with official sources before publishing or putting them out in public domain.

Tensions between the two countries escalated when Pakistan-backed terrorists attacked a group of tourists in the Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, leaving 26 people dead, including a couple of foreigners, and several more injured. According to media reports, it was the first major terror attack on civilians in Kashmir since the Centre ended J&K’s special status in 2019.

NBF’s latest advisory yesterday comes in the wake of long blackouts and warning sirens wailing in many cities in India that are near the Indo-Pak border.