The Government of India has blocked access to 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, which collectively had over 63 million subscribers, for allegedly spreading provocative and communally sensitive content in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, government sources said. The move follows recommendations from the Union Home Ministry.
The blocked channels include major Pakistani news outlets such as Dawn, Samaa TV, ARY News, Bol News, Raftar, Geo News, and Suno News. In addition, the personal YouTube accounts of well-known journalists including Irshad Bhatti, Asma Shirazi, Umar Cheema, and Muneeb Farooq have also been taken down.
Other affected accounts include The Pakistan Reference, Samaa Sports, Uzair Cricket, and Razi Naama.
Sources claim these channels were disseminating misinformation, provocative narratives, and communally charged content targeting India, its Army, and security forces. The action comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, in which 25 tourists and a local Kashmiri civilian were killed by militants.
Users attempting to access these channels in India are now shown a message reading: “This content is currently unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order. For more details about government removal requests, please visit the Google Transparency Report (transparencyreport.google.com).”
The ban underscores the Indian government’s increasing efforts to curb the spread of harmful and divisive online content, particularly in times of national crisis.
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