Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam and others' Instagram account was blocked in India after Arshad Nadeem

Some of India's famous Pakistani Instagram accounts have been blocked in India after the tragic terrorist attacks in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. This includes profiles of national cricketers and popular artists. Indian users can no longer access the Instagram pages of cricket stars like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi. Tensions intensified following the April 22 attack, killing 26 people (mainly tourists), a horrific act in southern Kashmir.

Even Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem has seen his Instagram account be restricted. When Indian users try to view his profile, they will encounter a message saying, “India is not available. This is because we comply with legal requests that restrict this content.”

In addition to cricketers, several Pakistani actors including Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar and Ali Fazal have also blocked Instagram accounts in India. This is part of a larger effort to limit Pakistani digital content with a significant following in India.

The decision comes after India restricts the high heels of multiple Pakistani YouTube channels, which are accused of spreading provocative, misleading and anti-Indian content. Accounts belonging to former cricketers such as Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi and Basit Ali were also affected.

Interestingly, while some Instagram accounts are still accessible, others have been deleted due to legal compliance.

The Indian government has officially blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, allegedly sharing “provocative and shared sensitive content”. Banned include Dawn News, Irshad Bhatti, Samaa TV, Ary News, Bol News, Raftar, Baftar, The Baftar, Geo News, Samaa Sports, Gnn, Gnn, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema, Umar Cheema Dorpusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, Suno News and Razi Naama.

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