Fawad Khan, Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan are the last Pakistani celebrities to disappear from Instagram in India. When fans try to access their profiles, an austere message appears: “An account not available in India. Indeed, we have respected a legal request to restrict this content. ”
The digital power failure deepens with the suspension of the next Fawad Khan film ABIR GULAALWith Vaani Kapoor. Scheduled to be released on May 9, the film has now reached a dead end. The film ABIR GULAALWith the Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, will not be authorized to release in India, said PTI citing sources.
This decision follows a wave of restrictions in the midst of increasing tensions between India and Pakistan after the terrorist attack of Pahalgam. Instagram stories of other eminent Pakistani artists – notably Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar, Imran Abbas and Sajal Aly – are now also blocked in India.
This is part of a broader repression. The Indian government had previously prohibited 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for having allegedly distributed provocative content and disinformation against India, its army and the security forces. The popular YouTube channel of Shoaib Akhtar, with more than 3.5 million subscribers, has also been deleted.
Collectively, the prohibited channels have raised an audience of nearly 63 million. The list includes major broadcasters like Dawn News, Ary News, Bol News, Geo News and Samaa TV. The YouTube channels exploited by well -known journalists such as Irshad Bhatti, Asma Shirazi, Umar Cheema and Muneeb Farooq were also blocked for Indian users.
In the middle of the digital frost, the Indian government also published a severe letter to the BBC, criticizing its cover of the Pahalgam attack. The objection? Referring to attackers as “activists” instead of terrorists. The government said it would continue to closely monitor reports from the point of sale.
