Pak actor Arsalan Naseer blames Fawad Khan for India's ban on Instagram accounts, calls him 'Ice Age wali gilehri'

Pakistani actor Arsalan Naseer has stirred up controversy by accusing Fawad Khan of being behind the restriction of Pakistani actors' Instagram accounts in India, including those of Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan, which are no longer accessible to Indian users. Also read: Fawad Khan, Atif Aslam’s Instagram still visible in India after Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan’s accounts get blocked

Arsalan Naseer points finger at Fawad Khan

Arsalan took a dig at Fawad, referring to him as "Ice Age wali gilehri”, a reference to the saber-toothed, long-snouted squirrel from Ice Age franchise with a particularly bad luck.

Arsalan took to his social media accounts – Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) -- to take a jibe at Fawad, who worked with Vaani Kapoor in his latest project Abir Gulaal.

He wrote, “Fawad Bhai film ap ne ki.... masla border pe shuru ho gaya.... ban mai ho gaya (Fawad bhai did a film, there are tensions at the border, but I am getting banned).... Mind na kerna lekin aap wo 'Ice Age' wali Gulehri hain…. (please don’t mind but you are the squirrel from Ice Age)”.

However, it is not clear which account he is referring to as both his social media accounts are visible in India at the moment.

Instagram account of Pakistani actors blocked in India

Arsalan, known for starring in Chupke Chupke, Hona Tha Pyar and Siyaah, was talk about the most recent news of Instagram account of several Pakistani actors, including Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan, being no longer accessible to users in India. The development comes amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan after 26 people were killed in a terror attack in Pahalgam.

Other Pakistani celebrities whose Instagram accounts have been blocked in India are Ali Zafar, Sanam Saeed, Bilal Abbas, Momina Mustehsan, Iqra Aziz, Imran Abbas, and Sajal Aly. "Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content," Instagram says on these accounts.

Meanwhile, actors such as Fawad, Mawra Hocane, and singer Atif Aslam, continue to have their profiles accessible to Indian users. In addition to this, the Instagram account of Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan are also visible in India.

On April 22, a group of heavily armed terrorists emerged from the woods and targeted tourists on the Baisaran grassland near Pahalgam. Twenty-six people, 25 of them tourists, were killed in the attack.