Pakistani News Channels, Celebrity Social Media Accounts Resurface in India Amid Silence on Ban.
Social media accounts of Pakistani celebrities and YouTube channels of major news outlets that were banned in India during Operation Sindoor have become accessible again, indicating a possible rollback of the restrictions. However, the government has made no formal announcement on lifting the ban.
Instagram accounts of Pakistani actors including Saba Qamar, Mawra Hocane, Ahad Raza Mir, Hania Amir, Yumna Zaidi, and Danish Taimoor — blocked in April as part of India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack — were visible to Indian users on Wednesday.
Several Pakistani YouTube channels, such as Hum TV, ARY Digital, and Har Pal Geo, also became available for streaming again.
The ban, imposed days after the April 22 attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baisaran Valley, targeted 16 Pakistani YouTube channels including Dawn News, Samaa TV, ARY News, and Geo News. Authorities had cited the spread of misinformation, provocative content, and anti-India narratives as reasons for the action. Collectively, the banned channels had a subscriber base of over 63 million in India.
Despite the renewed visibility of these platforms, the Indian government has yet to clarify whether the move is temporary, permanent, or the result of a technical rollback.
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