Pahalgam Attack: Instagram Handles Of Many Pak Actors Including Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan Blocked In India

As the political tension continues to escalate between India and Pakistan, the official Instagram handles of several Pakistani actors, including Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan have been disabled in India. Several Indian users are currently unable to access their profiles.

Besides the two popular actors, the other Pakistani celebrities whose Instagram accounts have been disabled in India include Ali Zafar, Maya Ali, Sanam Saeed, Bilal Abbas, Iqra Aziz, Imran Abbas and Sajal Aly. However, the Instagram accounts of some other popular Pakistani actors like Fawad Khan and Wahaj Ali are still visible in India.

The development came days after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that killed 26 people.

Upon trying to access the Pakistani celebrities' Instagram accounts, the netizens in India are served with a message reading, "Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content."

Previously, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government of India banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels having a cumulative subscriber list of approximately 63 million for circulating provocative and communally sensitive content while also propagating misleading narratives against India.

The channels that were banned include Dawn News, SAMAA TV, Irshad Bhatti, ARY News, BOL News, Raftar, The Pakistan reference, Geo News, Samaa Sports, GNN, Uzair Cricket. Umar Cheema Exclusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, SUNO News HD, and Razi Naama. 

The YouTube channel run by former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar, which had over 3.5 million subscribers, has also been taken down.

India-Pakistan Tension Escalates

Since the devastating attack on April 22 that killed 26 people in Pahalgam, the political tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours are on the rise.

For the past few days, Pakistani Army has been targeting different Indian positions along the Line of Control (LoC) since the past few days following the terror attack in Pahalgam. However, each time they met with appropriate response.

The Pakistan military has been put on high alert following India's assertion that it would hunt down the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam strike.

In view of the cross-border linkages to the Pahalgam attack, India responded with a series of retaliatory measures against Pakistan including the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), suspension of visas, closure of Wagah-Attari border amongst others..

Pakistan has also responded with tit-for-tat measures and closed its airspace to Indian-owned and operated airlines.  

Pakistan's government, reacting to a series of diplomatic moves by India, warned that diverting water meant for Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty would be viewed as an 'act of war'

In its response, Pakistan on Thursday announced shutting its airspace to all Indian airlines and suspended trade with New Delhi, including through third countries.

Pakistan also rejected India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and said any measures to stop the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the pact would be seen as an "act of war".