The restriction comes in the wake of a deadly terrorist attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir
The social media accounts of dozens of Pakistani actors, athletes and news outlets in India have reportedly been blocked, amid ongoing tensions between the two neighbors following a deadly terrorist attack in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistani Olympic javelin champion Arshad Nadeem is the latest public figure to have his Instagram account banned, according to Indian media. The athlete’s page on the platform is no longer accessible from India as of May 1. Instagram said it “complied with a legal request to restrict this content” as it was going “against local law.” Nadeem beat India’s Neeraj Chopra in the men’s javelin final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Earlier, YouTube channels of former Pakistan cricketers Shoaib Akhtar and Basit Ali were banned in India, also for “security” reasons.
Pakistani celebrities with substantial followings in India have encountered similar restrictions. Among those whose Instagram pages have been blocked are actress Mahira Khan and Ali Zafar, who appeared in several Bollywood movies. According to the Hindustan Times, nearly a dozen actors have been affected by the ban.
On Monday, New Delhi also blocked 16 YouTube channels, including those belonging to major Pakistani media outlets like Geo News, Dawn, Raftar, Bol News, ARY News and Samaa TV. The authorities accused the channels of spreading sensitive information in the wake of the Jammu and Kashmir attack as well as promoting what they called false and misleading narratives about India, its Armed Forces and security agencies.
Pakistan’s authorities have not commented on the bans yet.
The April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam in India’s Jammu and Kashmir federal territory claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on Islamabad, accusing it of supporting cross-border terrorism. Pakistan denied all the allegations.
The two countries have a long-standing dispute over Kashmir, which is de facto divided by the Line of Control established after the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.
