India bans Pakistan Army’s YouTube channel, latter stops playing Indian songs on radio

India has intensified its digital crackdown on Pakistani media outlets and blocked access to YouTube channel of Pakistan Army’s media wing, ISPR, following the barbaric terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam where 26 civilians were gunned by a group of terrorists affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF) — an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The move follows national outrage over the Pahalgam massacre and rising concerns over the dissemination of propaganda by Pakistani state and non-state actors.

According to official sources, the government has reportedly urged platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and X to ban all Pakistani handles from operating in India.

Visitors attempting to access the ISPR channel on YouTube are now greeted with a message stating: “This content is currently unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order.”

Apart from ISPR, several more popular Pakistani drama channels on YouTube, including ARY, Har Pal Geo, and Hum TV, have also been blocked by the Indian government. Several Pakistani celebrities’ Instagram handles, including Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar, Sanam Saeed, Bilal Abbas, Iqra Aziz, Imran Abbas, and Sajal Aly, face the same restriction in India.

Earlier, 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including Dawn News, Samaa TV, Ary News and Geo News, were banned for disseminating misinformation against India. According to the officials, the Pakistan YouTube channels were banned for spreading provocative and communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives against India, Army and security agencies.

Meanwhile, in what is being seen as a retaliatory move by the neighbouring country, the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) has stopped airing Indian songs on Pakistan FM radio stations. Pakistan Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar in a letter to PBA termed it as a “patriotic gesture”.

India