The social media accounts of several prominent Pakistani celebrities were once again blocked in India on Thursday. This is just a day after the restrictions were lifted amid the backlash.
Instagram and X profiles of Pakistani celebrities such as Shahid Afridi, Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan, Mawra Hocane and Fawad Khan once again became inaccessible to Indian users.
The move follows a brief window on Wednesday when many Pakistani YouTube channels and Instagram accounts tarted reappearing on social media platforms in India.
However, now if users search for the profiles of Pakistani celebrities on Instagram, a pop-up message appears stating: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”
A section of the media has quoted government sources saying that the accounts were reflecting due to a technical glitch. “If you can see some accounts either on X, YouTube and Meta, they will be inaccessible in a few hours. Some technical glitch led to the unblocking. Rectified now,” claimed the government source, in a media report.
On July 2, Pakistani YouTube channels such as Hum TV, ARY Digital and Har Pal Geo have also become accessible again.
Fans noted the sudden visibility of these profiles, prompting speculation that the so-called social media “ban” had quietly been rolled back.
Notably, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is yet to react to the reappearance and then disappearance of the Pakistani channels and celebrity accounts in India despite the ban.
The original restrictions had been enforced in the wake of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, particularly after India’s Operation Sindoor, a military operation targeting terror establishments in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Several Pakistani celebrities had publicly criticised the operation, leading to a wave of backlash and the subsequent geoblocking of their social media accounts within India.
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