Social media accounts of Pakistani cricketers, actors blocked again
The lifting of the ban on these accounts had come nearly three months after the central government blocked several Pakistani social media accounts following the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
The YouTube channel, 'The Game Plan', by former Pakistani cricketers Basit Ali and Kamran Akmal, however, remains available.
Akhtar's profile on Instagram and X remain banned, as does that of former Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi. The latter's YouTube channel has also been banned again.
The YouTube accounts of the former Pakistani cricketers display the message: '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.'
The Instagram accounts of the actresses state: 'Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.'
On April 28, the government had banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels–with about 63.08 million subscribers in total–for disseminating 'provocative content, false narratives and misinformation' against India, its Army and security agencies. The decision was based on recommendations made by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
1. Dawn News TV: Considered among the leading platforms in Pakistan with 1.96 million followers, the channel uses the handle @dawnnewspakistan.
2. Irshad Bhatti: His YouTube channel has 827,000 followers. The channel's handle is @IrshadBhatti01.
3. Samaa TV: Samaa TV has 12.7 million followers. The channel goes by the handle @Samaatv.
4. ARY News: ARY News has 14.6 million followers. The channel's handle is @ArynewsTvofficial.
5. BOL News: BOL News has 7.85 million followers. The channel uses the handle @BOLNewsofficial.
6. Raftar: Raftar has 804k followers. The channel's handle is @raftartv.
7. The Pakistan Reference: The channel has 288,000 followers. The channel's handle is @ThePakistanExperience.
8. Geo News: It has 18.1 million followers. The channel uses the handle @geonews.
9. Samaa Sports: Samaa Sports has 73,500 followers. The channel's handle is @SamaaSports.
10. GNN: It has 3.54 million followers. The channel's handle is @gnnhdofficial.
11. Uzair Cricket: Uzair Cricket has 288,000 followers. The channel's handle is @UzairCricket786.
12. Umar Cheema Exclusive: It has 125,000 followers. The channel's handle is @UmarCheemaExclusive.
13. Asma Shirazi: Her channel has 133,000 followers. The handle is @AsmaShiraziofficial.
14. Muneeb Farooq: His channel has 165,000 followers. The handle is @muneebfarooqofficial.
15. SUNO News HD: It has 1.36 million followers. The channel uses the handle @SUNONewsHD.
16. Razi Naama: The channel has 270,000 followers. The handle is @razinaama.
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