Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan & more Pakistani celebrities’ accounts blocked again in India

The brief reappearance of these accounts was not a policy reversal but the result of a technical glitch

by e4m Staff
Published: Jul 4, 2025 7:29 AM | 2 min read

Pakistani celebrity social media accounts, including those of Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan, were briefly accessible in India but have since been geo-blocked again, confirming the earlier visibility was a technical glitch.
Users attempting to access these accounts now receive a message indicating the content is restricted in India due to compliance with a legal request.
The initial accessibility of these accounts followed a series of restrictions imposed by India after Operation Sindoor, a military response to a terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir that heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.
The Indian government had previously blocked multiple Pakistani social media profiles and YouTube channels as part of a digital crackdown on content perceived as critical of its military operations.

A day after several Pakistani celebrity social media accounts briefly became accessible in India, they were once again restricted on Thursday morning, confirming that the earlier visibility was temporary and unintended.

Instagram and Twitter accounts belonging to prominent figures such as Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan, Shahid Afridi, Mawra Hocane, and Fawad Khan have now been geo-blocked in India. Users attempting to access these profiles are being met with a platform-generated message stating: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”

According to government sources, the brief reappearance of these accounts was not a policy reversal but the result of a technical glitch.

On July 2, several high-profile Instagram accounts, including those of Saba Qamar, Yumna Zaidi, Ahad Raza Mir, and Danish Taimoor, were briefly visible to Indian users. In addition to individual celebrities, YouTube channels such as Hum TV, ARY Digital, and Har Pal Geo also became accessible—leading many to believe that the ban imposed during heightened India-Pakistan tensions had been lifted.

The initial restrictions were part of a wider set of measures taken by India following Operation Sindoor—a military response to the April 22 terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. The operation targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), further straining bilateral relations.

Following this, the Indian government initiated a digital crackdown on Pakistani content, including the blocking of over a dozen YouTube news channels and several celebrity social media profiles. The move came after some Pakistani public figures were seen criticising the operation, leading to concerns over the potential impact of their content on Indian audiences.