After the Pahalgam terror attack last year, which claimed the lives of 26 people, India geo-blocked the Instagram profiles of several Pakistani celebrities. These accounts had briefly become visible in the country in July 2025 due to what was described as a technical issue before being restricted again.
Now, months after that incident, some users in India have once again reported being able to access a few of these profiles.
Instagram Accounts Of Pakistani Celebs ‘Back’ In India
Instagram profiles of popular Pakistani actors such as Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan, Fawad Khan, Ayeza Khan, Bilal Abbas Khan, Wahaj Ali, and Saba Qamar have been accessible to certain users in India.
However, the access does not appear to be uniform. While some users could view the profiles normally, others said the pages loaded without showing posts, follower counts, or the list of accounts they follow.
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In several cases, people searching for these profiles still saw a message saying the account is not available in India due to a legal request restricting the content.
“Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”
The profiles that had briefly appeared for some users later disappeared again. The accounts were visible for a few hours at around 10:30 am in the morning. This may have happened after the issue was flagged to authorities, leading to the accounts being geo-restricted once more.
Govt Action Against Pakistan
Following the Pahalgam terror attack, the Ministry of Home Affairs blocked 16 Pakistan-based YouTube channels for allegedly spreading provocative content, misinformation, and narratives targeting India, its armed forces, and security agencies.
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The banned list included major media outlets such as Dawn News, ARY News, Samaa TV, Bol News, and Geo News, along with other channels like Irshad Bhatti, Raftar, The Pakistan Reference, Samaa Sports, GNN, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema Exclusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, Suno News, and Raazi Naama.
Pakistani Celebrities, Cricketers Also Geo-Blocked
In addition to the YouTube restrictions, several Pakistani public figures also had their social media accounts limited in India. These included actors such as Mahira Khan, Saba Qamar, Ahad Raza Mir, Danish Taimoor, Yumna Zaidi, Fawad Khan, Mawra Hocane, and Hania Aamir.
Cricketers, including Shahid Afridi, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Wasim Akram, Shan Masood, Hasan Ali, Naseem Shah, Imam-ul-Haq, Shadab Khan, and Shoaib Akhtar, were also among those whose profiles remained geo-blocked.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting also issued an advisory to OTT platforms and digital streaming services in India, directing them to stop hosting or distributing Pakistani-origin content, including web series, films, songs, podcasts, and other digital media.
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