A gruesome terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on Tuesday, April 22, claimed the lives of nearly 26 people. It has been a week since the horrifying incident, and India has since taken several measures to combat terrorism. Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the Indian government has decided to ban certain Pakistani news and entertainment channels.
However, Pakistani actors enjoy huge fan following in India who watch their television dramas on YouTube regularly.
Several Pakistani actors, including Fawad Khan and Hania Aamir, publicly condemned the violence in Pahalgam. However, on April 30, 2025, the Instagram accounts of Pakistani actresses Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan were blocked for users in India and are no longer accessible.
When Indian users attempted to access these profiles, they were shown a message that read: "Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content."
Other Pakistani celebrities whose accounts have also been disabled in India include Ali Zafar, Sanam Saeed, Bilal Abbas, Iqra Aziz, Imran Abbas, and Sajal Aly.
What happened that led to the Instagram account ban?
The decision to block these Instagram profiles reportedly aligns with the Indian government's broader crackdown on Pakistani General Entertainment Channel (GEC) content. This includes the banning of 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, affecting major media outlets such as Dawn News, Samaa TV, ARY News, and Geo News.
The restrictions have also extended to sports and entertainment content. Popular accounts like those of Shoaib Akhtar and Wasay Habib have been blocked, along with several journalists and platforms critical of India or sharing politically sensitive material.
Additionally, India has expressed strong disapproval of foreign media coverage of the Pahalgam attack. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) sent a formal letter to the BBC, objecting to its use of the term "militants" instead of "terrorists" in reports.
The decision to ban Pakistani GEC content, followed by the blocking of Pakistani actors' Instagram accounts in India, has not gone down well with many Indian netizens, who have expressed their displeasure online.
Hania Amir, Mahira Khan, and several other Pakistani accounts have had their Instagram accounts blocked in India. pic.twitter.com/gmRhYrRgRk
— Danish (@DanishKh4n) April 30, 2025
A user said, "India fighting war on social media?.."
Another user mentioned, "India bans Hania Aamir's Insta page. Now it's a total digital strike.."
However, Pakistani artists like Fawad Khan and Atif Aslam's Instagram accounts are still accessible to Indian users.
Wahaj Ali's account is also accessible.
The release of Fawad Khan's comeback Bollywood movie Abir Gulaal has also been cancelled in India.
