After restoration due to ‘technical error’, govt blocks Pak social media channels

SEveral Pakistani YouTube and Instagram accounts that had briefly suit approachable in republic of india were plugged once more as the government cited ‘technical error’ for the restoration of social media accounts.The accounts had been blocked after the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir which killed 26 tourists.According to officials familiar with the matter, the temporary visibility was due to a technical error that caused the accounts to be inadvertently unblocked. The officials added that the accounts are now in the process of being blocked once more.Earlier, blocked Instagram accounts of several Pakistani celebrities became visible in India on June 2.Also Read: Ban on Pakistan social media channels lifted? Many accounts, blocked after Pahalgam attack, ‘accessible’ in India However, on June 3, they were restricted again in India. The accounts included those of Saba Qamar, Mawra Hocane, Ahad Raza Mir, Hania Amir, Yumna Zaidi, and Danish Taimoor, among others.The message on their profile read: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”YouTube channels Dawn News Pakistan, Samaa TV, Irshad Bhatti, Ary News, Bol News, Geo News, Samaa Sports, GNN HD official, among others were banned by the government in an April 27 order.“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 (transparencyreport.google.com),” stated the page of the blocked channels on YouTube.YouTube channels visible at the time of writing this article, and were previously banned, are Raftartv, ARY Digital HD, Har Pal Geo. The YouTube channels of former Pakistan cricketers Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, and Rashid Latif were restored.On May 8, the ministry of information and broadcasting issued an advisory to OTT platforms, media streaming platforms and other media companies to stop carrying content on their respective platforms which has originated from Pakistan.Citing national security, the ministry asked platforms to “discontinue the web-series, films, songs, podcasts and other streaming media content, whether made available on a subscription-based model or otherwise, having its origins in Pakistan with immediate effect.”Tensions between India and Pakistan rose after the Pahalgam terror attack. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targetting terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). On May 10, a ceasefire was called between both nations.