Instagram account of several Pak actors, including Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan, blocked in India

Instagram account of several Pakistani actors, including Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan, are 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.

The account of several popular Pakistani actors and content creators shows up a 'Account not available' message when accessed by users from India.

"Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content," Instagram says on these accounts.

Other Pak celebrities whose Instagram accounts have been blocked in India are Ali Zafar, Sanam Saeed, Bilal Abbas, Iqra Aziz, Imran Abbas, and Sajal Aly.

This social media crackdown follows the Indian government's move two days ago to ban 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including prominent media outlets like Dawn News, Samaa TV, ARY News, and Geo News.

The channels were banned for airing provocative and communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India, its Army and security agencies in the backdrop of the tragic Pahalgam terror attack.

Pahalgam attack

Exactly a week ago, 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 and 24, Hindu were killed in the attack that was reminiscent of the heyday of terrorism in the 1990s and 2000s and the worst to rock the country since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba’s proxy, The Resistance Front (TRF), claimed responsibility for the attack that coincided with US vice president JD Vance’s visit to India. New Delhi has since identified three Pakistani terrorists and tracked their digital footprints to underline Islamabad’s role in the attack.

A day after the attack, India announced a series of punitive measures against Pakistan including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, shutting down of the only operation land border crossing at Attari and downgrading of diplomatic ties in view of cross-border links to the attack.