India bans Pak TV channels, YouTubers
In its growing sense of frustration, India on Monday launched a sweeping crackdown on social media, banning more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading "provocative" content following an attack in Kashmir.
The banned platforms include the YouTube channels of Pakistani news outlets as well as individuals.
The sites were blocked in India on Monday, with a message reading it was due to an "order from the government related to national security or public order".
The Press Trust of India news agency, which listed 16 channels, cited a government statement saying they were blocked for "disseminating provocative and communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India".
The ban follows the deadly April 22 shooting that targeted tourists in Pahalgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Twenty-six men were killed in the attack, the worst on civilians in the contested region for a quarter of a century.
Immediately after the attack, India put the blame on Pakistan. Islamabad denied any role in the attack while calling for an independent inquiry into the incident.
Meanwhile, the BBC's coverage of the Kashmir terror attack last week has also come under criticism from the Indian government, which has formally written to its operations head, sources familiar with the situation told RT.
The sources said New Delhi expressed its strong reservations to the channel after it referred to "terrorists" as "militants" in a TV report. The government, through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), approached BBC India head Jackie Martin to convey its concerns.
The sources added that the MEA's External Publicity and Public Diplomacy (XP) Division has been tasked with monitoring the BBC's future reporting.
The Indian government has also flagged the use of the word "militants" in an article on the BBC website entitled: 'Pakistan suspends visas for Indians after deadly Kashmir attack on tourists'.
Similar concerns were raised against other international news outlets such as AP and Reuters, according to the sources. They said the MEA is expected to monitor their reportage and flag anything which it finds downplays the severity of the situation, or is factually incorrect.
Earlier, the Indian information ministry also issued an advisory notice on Saturday calling on journalists and social media users to "exercise utmost responsibility" while reporting on matters "concerning defence and other security related operations".
The advisory note, which cited previous cases of conflict with Pakistan including fighting in 1999 at Kargil, warned that "premature disclosure of sensitive information may inadvertently assist hostile elements and endanger operational effectiveness".
Indian social media accounts have also been awash with hateful comments on the killings at Pahalgam, with hashtags including #WarWithPakistan and #FinishPakistan trending on social media platform X.
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