Pakistani Celebrities’ Social Media Accounts Blocked Again In India: Just A Day After Ban Lifted
New Delhi: The social media accounts of several high-profile Pakistani celebrities and entertainment channels were once again blocked in India on Thursday, just a day after restrictions were unexpectedly lifted. Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) profiles of stars like Mahira Khan, Hania Aamir, Mawra Hocane, Shahid Afridi, and Fawad Khan became inaccessible to Indian users by Thursday morning. Pakistani YouTube channels also faced renewed geoblocking.
The brief reappearance of these profiles on Wednesday sparked widespread speculation, with many fans assuming that the digital ban, enforced in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s subsequent Operation Sindoor, had been quietly reversed.
On July 2, Indian users noticed renewed access to Instagram profiles of actors such as Saba Qamar, Yumna Zaidi, Danish Taimoor, Ahad Raza Mir, and others. However, within 24 hours, the same accounts were once again restricted. Now, users searching for these profiles are met with a message reading: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”
The Indian government has not issued any official statement regarding the temporary restoration or renewed blocking of these accounts. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has also remained silent on the matter.
The initial ban followed increased tensions between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, a military offensive targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Several Pakistani public figures had openly criticized the operation, prompting public outrage in India and leading to the digital blacklisting of their content.
The swift reinstatement of the restrictions has reignited debate around digital censorship, cross-border content sharing, and the role of political tensions in regulating public access to social media.
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