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India has banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, accusing them of spreading inflammatory and divisive content following the militant attack in Kashmir.
The move, taken on the Union Home Ministry’s recommendation, comes amid heightened tensions between the two nations.
The banned channels include major Pakistani news outlets such as Dawn, Samaa TV, and ARY News, along with individual channels operated by journalists Irshad Bhatti, Asma Shirazi, Umar Cheema, and Muneeb Farooq.
Other affected platforms include The Pakistan Reference, Samaa Sports, Uzair Cricket and Razi Naama.
According to NDTV, the banned channels were allegedly promoting misinformation, false narratives against India and its law enforcing agencies.
Attempting to access the banned content now results in a message stating that it is unavailable due to a government order related to national security or public order.
This ban comes after the terrorist attack in Kashmir on Apr 22, where 25 tourists were killed in what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as “an attack in India’s soul.”
Blaming Pakistan for the attack, India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty and halted visa services for Pakistani citizens.
Pakistan has retaliated by announcing its right to suspend all bilateral agreements with India, including the Simla Agreement.
Along with Pakistani news outlets, the Indian government has expressed strong objections to the BBC over a headline regarding the visa suspension, reports bdnews24.com citing NDTV.
According to NDTV, Indian officials have claimed the headline misrepresented the incident and implied India is responsible for the attack.
A formal letter of complaint has been issued to the BBC, and the government will continue to monitor the news agency’s reporting.