India Blocks YouTube Channel of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
In response to the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists, the Government of India has taken a significant step by blocking the official YouTube channel of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif within Indian territory.
Indian users attempting to access the channel are now greeted with a message stating, “This content is not available in your country due to a government order related to national security or public order.”
This move comes just days after the Pahalgam terror incident and appears to be part of a broader strategy by the Indian government to curb content it deems as threatening to national security. Previously, India had banned 16 prominent Pakistani YouTube channels over allegations of spreading inflammatory, religiously sensitive content, and misinformation against India and its security forces. These banned channels included major news outlets such as Dawn, Samaa TV, ARY News, Geo News, and BOL News.
Additionally, India has blocked the ‘X’ account of Pakistan’s Minister of Defence. Action has also been taken against the YouTube channels of former Pakistani cricketers Shoaib Akhtar, Basit Ali, and Shahid Afridi. Furthermore, Instagram accounts of Pakistani cricketers Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi have been suspended. The Instagram account of Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem had already been blocked earlier.
These measures signal India’s firm stance on digital content that it perceives as a threat to its national integrity and public peace.