India has blocked the Instagram accounts of several former and current Pakistani star cricketers, including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Wasim Akram. This move is reportedly part of a “digital crackdown” on influential Pakistani figures following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India.
Others whose accounts have been blocked include Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Shadab Khan, Imam-ul-Haq, Naseem Shah, Hasan Ali, Test captain Shan Masood, and Pakistan’s World Cup-winning former captain and ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Instagram users in India are unable to view these accounts. When attempting to access them, they are shown a message from Instagram stating: “This account is not available in India due to a legal request we received to restrict this content.”
Instagram further clarified, “We received a legal request regarding this content. After reviewing it in accordance with our policies and human rights assessments, we determined that the content violates local laws in the region, and thus we are restricting it.”
Earlier this week, the YouTube channels of former Pakistani cricketers Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, and Basit Ali were also blocked in India under government orders “in the interest of national security and public order.”
