New Delhi, May 2: India on Friday blocked access to the official YouTube channel of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, escalating a digital crackdown following heightened cross-border tensions in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
Visitors to the channel within India were greeted with a message from YouTube stating, “The content is currently unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order.” The platform referred users to the Google Transparency Report for further details on government takedown requests.
The restriction comes days after the Indian government barred access to 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, accusing them of spreading what it described as “false, provocative and communally sensitive content” regarding India. Among the restricted outlets are prominent broadcasters such as Dawn News, ARY News, SAMAA TV, BOL News, and Geo News.
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the move was in line with recommendations from the Ministry of Home Affairs. “The decision was taken following intelligence inputs after the April 22 terror incident in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 individuals, many of whom were tourists,” the official said.
The terror attack, which occurred in the upper reaches of the popular Kashmir resort, has led to tighter scrutiny of international media coverage. Officials confirmed that the Ministry of External Affairs will monitor the BBC’s reporting closely after it referred to the attackers as “militants”—a characterization India strongly contests.
“We’ve raised concerns with the BBC and other outlets over the language used in describing the perpetrators,” the official added.
The list of banned YouTube channels includes news, political commentary, and even sports content creators, such as Raftar, The Pakistan Reference, Samaa Sports, Uzair Cricket, and individual commentators like Irshad Bhatti, Asma Shirazi, Umar Cheema, Muneeb Farooq, and Razi Naama.
As tensions simmer between the nuclear-armed neighbors, India continues to enforce strict controls over digital content that it deems a threat to public order or national security.
