Some Pakistani news websites and social media accounts of Pakistani celebrities which were banned during India’s counter-terror operation Operation Sindoor have resurfaced on social media. It is unclear if those restrictions have been lifted or not as there is no official announcement lifting the ban by the government.
However, government sources said “following a periodic review, some social media accounts have been reinstated" but majority of the handles remain blocked.
The government sources pointed out that some “14,000 accounts on some social still remain banned".
They further added: “Upon the review, it has been observed that some of these platforms which have been reinstated have not spoken anti India language for a while, which was the main reason for blocking them".
The sources said: “Accounts cannot be permanently banned and are subject to regular reviews as part of the standard process".
The ban, part of India’s Operation Sindoor counter-terror effort, targeted major Pakistani media outlets including Dawn News, Geo News, ARY News, Bol News, Samaa TV, GNN, Suno News HD and The Pakistan Reference, among others. Together, these channels accounted for an estimated 63 million subscribers.
The crackdown also extended to sports and entertainment channels such as Samaa Sports, Uzair Cricket and Hum TV, as well as individual journalists and content creators.
Pakistan public and sports-related personalities whose accounts faced ban included Umar Cheema, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, Irshad Bhatti, Razi Naama, Wasay Habib, Arzoo Kazmi, Syed Muzammil Shah and former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar. Several of them also faced restrictions on platforms like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), as the ban widened in early May 2025.
The restrictions were imposed amid cross-border information warfare and attempts by these Pakistani social media cells to manipulate Indian public sentiment.
