
India Re-Blocks All Pakistani X Accounts; YouTube Ban Continues
NEW DELHI (IANS)- All Pakistani accounts on X have been blocked in India, after briefly becoming accessible in the past few days, official sources confirmed on July 3. This move continues India’s escalating digital and diplomatic restrictions against Pakistan, initiated after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 tourists were killed by terrorists affiliated with the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba’s proxy, The Resistance Front.
Following the attack, India implemented a series of retaliatory measures, including the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and the launch of Operation Sindoor, which targeted nine terror launch pads inside Pakistan. Among these measures was a widespread crackdown on Pakistani media and social media content across Instagram, X, YouTube, and other platforms, encompassing accounts of actors, cricketers, and internet influencers.
While several of these accounts had recently become accessible again, prompting criticism and questions regarding their restoration, they are now re-blocked. Users in India attempting to access these profiles are met with a message stating: “Account Withheld. (Name of the account) has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand.”
On July 2, users had briefly gained access to X and Instagram accounts of various Pakistani actors and internet personalities, including Mawra Hocane, Saba Qamar, Ahad Raza Mir, Yumna Zaidi, and Danish Taimoor, as well as YouTube channels run by former cricketers Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar. However, accounts belonging to Mahira Khan, Fawad Khan, and Hania Aamir remained blocked throughout. Additionally, the ban on YouTube channels also remains in effect, sources said.
Earlier in May, the Indian government issued an advisory, dated May 8, 2025, directing all OTT platforms and digital intermediaries to discontinue content originating from Pakistan. Issued under the IT Rules, 2021, the advisory stated that “content hosted or streamed must not threaten India’s sovereignty, integrity, national security, or public order.” It explicitly instructed media platforms to remove “web-series, films, songs, podcasts and other streaming content” produced in Pakistan, whether on subscription-based or free platforms.
Following the brief restoration of access to some Pakistani accounts, the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) made an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding a total blackout of all Pakistani social media presence in India. The association labeled the visibility of such accounts as an “insult to the sacrifice of our martyred soldiers” and an “emotional assault” on Indians who have lost loved ones to terror attacks orchestrated by Pakistan.