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India Reimposes Block on Pakistani Celebrities’ Social Media Profiles

Blaming a technical glitch for the momentary unblocking, authorities reimposed geo-restrictions on more than 18,000 Pakistani profiles under India’s IT rules.

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While Mawra Hocane's Instagram account is again visible in India, Fawad Khan and Hania Aamir remain blocked.
Instagram account of Pakistani actors Mawra Hocane and Yumna Ziadi blocked again.
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Overview

  • On July 3, an emergency internal review prompted the government to reverse select profile restorations and reinstate the ban on Pakistani celebrity and media handles.
  • Government sources confirm that over 18,000 Pakistani social media accounts are now geo-restricted in India under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.
  • The brief July 2 unblocking had restored visibility for actors Mawra Hocane, Yumna Zaidi, Ahad Raza Mir and Danish Taimoor, while high-profile stars like Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and Hania Aamir remained off-limits.
  • Neither the Ministry of Information and Technology nor the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has offered any official explanation for the glitch or the swift reversal of the access.
  • The All Indian Cine Workers Association had urged Prime Minister Modi to impose a total digital blackout on Pakistani content, calling the temporary lift an “insult” to victims of cross-border terrorism.