After Pakistani actors’ and cricketers’ social media profiles became available in India on Wednesday, the Indian government restricted them again following an immediate internal assessment.
According to News18, the government reinstalled the block on over 18,000 social media accounts across several platforms following reaction over the brief period of suspending the restriction. This covers individual accounts for celebrities, influencers, media companies, and entertainment networks based in Pakistan.
Technical glitch behind short visibility
According to government sources, the brief reappearance of these accounts was due to a technical error or delay in compliance by platforms, rather than a policy shift. Officials also stated that a few handles on X, YouTube, or Meta, which may still look available to some users, will become inaccessible within a few hours of the issue being fixed.
On Wednesday, Indian fans were able to view the Instagram accounts of actors such as Mawra Hocane, Saba Qamar, Ahad Raza Mir, Yumna Zaidi, and Danish Taimoor. Cricketers Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar’s YouTube feeds, as well as entertainment sites Hum TV, ARY Digital, and Har Pal Geo, were all viewable.
By Thursday morning, they were once again discovered to be prohibited in India, with users seeking for them encountering the message: “Account not available in India. This is because we followed a court request to prohibit this content.
On May 8, 2025, the government issued an advice banning Pakistani social media accounts under Part II of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. It expressed concern about India’s sovereignty, national security, public order, and integrity, and urged publishers and digital intermediaries to remain compliant.
The recommendation requested that OTT platforms, streaming services, and intermediaries immediately halt web series, films, songs, and other media content originating in Pakistan.
These bans are the result of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam, which killed 26 victims (25 of whom were Indian). The attack was claimed by The Resistance Front, a proxy for the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operating from Pakistan.
The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) denounced the temporary return of Pakistani accounts, calling it an “insult” to relatives of victims of cross-border terrorism.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, the association called for a complete internet blackout, a restriction on future cooperation, and a lasting cultural distance with Pakistan.
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