Pakistani Journalist Hira Batool has reacted to the arrest of her “sister” Jyoti Malhotra and criticised the action by the Indian Government. In an Instagram post shared to express her support for Jyoti, without naming her directly, Hira appears to be narrating ISI propaganda. Jyoti, a Haryana-based YouTuber, was arrested on Sunday on charges of sharing sensitive information and being in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen. Shashank Kumar Sawan, Superintendent of Police (SP) Hisar, stated that she was being developed as an asset and had maintained ties with other YouTube influencers and Pakistani nationals. Following her arrest on spying charges, reactions have started pouring in from across the border also.
Hira Batool Comes Out In Support Of Jyoti
One such person is Pakistani social media influencer and Journalist Hira Batool, whom Jyoti met during her Pakistan trip. Notably, Jyoti had earlier posted a picture with Hira and referred to her as Behan which translates to Sister. Her caption read as: “Hindustani Pakistani Behan Behan.”
Now, this “sister” from across the border has come forward to support Jyoti and shared a post slamming the Indian government. Without naming Jyoti, Batool has accused India of targeting its own You tubers and vloggers. She labelled the action by India as “useless” and asked the government to stop them. Her Instagram post read: “India has now started targeting its own You tubers and vloggers. India, stop useless actions.”
While she hasn’t named Jyoti in her post, it is being widely interpreted as an indirect show of support for her.
Jyoti and Hira had met a few months ago during Jyoti’s visit to Pakistan. Their gesture of calling each other sisters in a widely shared clip was seen as a symbol of cross-border friendship.
At present, Jyoti remains in police custody and investigation is underway. It has come to light that she was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack. SP Hisar said that the investigation is ongoing to establish any possible linkages between her visit and the terror attack.
