The Indian government blocked the social media handles of several prominent Pakistani celebrities on Wednesday amid escalating tensions. New Delhi has announced a slew of punitive measures over the past week after a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead and left several others injured.
“Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content,” Indian users were informed when trying to access the blocked handles.
The ‘ban’ also came less than a day after the X handle of Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif was ‘withheld’ in India. Around 16 Pakistani YouTube channels with a total of 63 million subscribers — including leading news channels — have also been banned in the country for spreading “provocative and communally sensitive content”.
The Instagram accounts of several actors and influencers appear to have been blocked on Wednesday evening — including Mahira Khan, Hania Aamir, Ali Zafar and Sajal Aly. Ayeza Khan, Sanam Saeed, Maya Ali, and Iqra Aziz Hussain have also been affected by the newly imposed curbs.
Netizens however noted that the Instagram handles of popular Pakistani actors Fawad Khan and Fahad Mustafa remained accessible on Wednesday evening. Handles belonging to Saba Qamar Zaman, Yumna Zaidi, Mehwish Hayat and Urwa Hocane were also unaffected.
Pakistan also said on Wednesday that it had “credible intelligence” of an Indian attack ‘within days’ as soldiers continued to exchange fire along the border. Islamabad claimed that the neighbouring country was planning military action against it within the next 24 to 36 hours “on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement” and vowed to respond “very strongly”. Meanwhile Indian government officials said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “given complete operational freedom to the armed forces to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India’s response to the Pahalgam massacre” during a top-level meeting on Tuesday night.