Several Pakistani actors, including Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan, have had their Instagram accounts disabled in India. Users in the country are unable to access their profiles, with Hania Aamir's account reportedly among the first affected.
This comes amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed after terrorists belonging to The Resistance Force (TRF), an offshoot of banned Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), opened fire on them.
Other Pakistani celebrities whose Instagram accounts have been disabled in India are Ali Zafar, Sanam Saeed, Bilal Abbas, Iqra Aziz, Imran Abbas and Sajal Aly.
When the fans of these Pakistani celebrities tried to access their Instagram accounts, they all read the same message- "Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content."
Interestingly, the Instagram accounts of some other popular Pakistani actors like Fawad Khan and Wahaj Ali are still visible in India.
Not just the celebrities' Instagram accounts, India has banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading provocative and communally sensitive content, as well as false narratives targeting the country, its Army, and security agencies, government sources said.
The YouTube channel run by former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar, which had over 3.5 million subscribers, has also been taken down.
The latest action came after a slew of other measures taken by the government as a response to the April 22 attack.
India has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, scaled down diplomatic relations with Pakistan by downsizing the staff at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi, and cancelling the visas of Pakistani nationals, among others.
Tensions have been rising by the day with Pakistani authorities on their toes fearing Indian military retaliation.
source: India Today