India Bans 16+ Pakistani YouTube Channels After Pahalgam Attack
The ban targets a mix of prominent Pakistani news networks, sports channels, and individual creators.
Following the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, which resulted in the deaths of 26 people, including 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen, India has taken significant digital action by banning over 16 Pakistani YouTube channels.
Collectively, these channels had amassed around 63 million subscribers.
The Ministry of Home Affairs recommended the ban, citing that these channels were disseminating provocative, communally sensitive content and spreading false narratives and misinformation targeting India, its Army, and security agencies.
The government stated that such content had the potential to incite violence, create communal divisions, and damage India’s international image, particularly in the emotionally charged aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
The ban targets a mix of prominent Pakistani news networks, sports channels, and individual creators, including Dawn News, Samaa TV, ARY News, Geo News, Shoaib Akhtar’s 100mph, and others.
Channels run by well-known journalists such as Irshad Bhatti, Asma Shirazi, Umar Cheema, and Muneeb Farooq were also blocked.
Former Pakistani cricketers Shoaib Akhtar and Basit Ali’s YouTube channels, with Shoaib Akhtar’s alone having over 3.5 million subscribers, were among those affected, even if not on the initial government-issued list.
Notable channels blocked include:
Indian users attempting to access these channels now receive a message from YouTube stating that the content is unavailable in the country due to a government order related to national security or public order.
