On May 2, the Indian government blocked access to the Instagram accounts of current Pakistani cricket players, such as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, in the country after banning 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including those of well-known former Pakistani players Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi.
The decision follows actions made by the Indian government in response to the Pahalgam terror assault, in which terrorists shot and killed 26 Indians while tourists were having a good time in the Anantnag area of South Kashmir.
In addition to Babar and Rizwan, the following cricket players from the bordering nation have had their Instagram accounts prohibited in India: Wasim Akram, Shan Masood, Hasan Ali, Naseem Shah, Imam-ul-Haq, and Shadab Khan.
This list also includes former Prime Minister and cricket captain Imran Khan, who is incarcerated in Pakistan, along with Akhtar and Afridi.
According to Instagram, “We received a legal request to restrict this content,” the company wrote. We evaluated it in light of our policies and carried out a human rights and legal analysis. Following the review, we blocked access to the content on the handles of the aforementioned cricket players in the areas where it violated local legislation.
Previously, 16 YouTube channels and the Instagram account of Pakistan’s first individual Olympic gold medallist, Arshad Nadeem, were blocked in India at the Indian government’s request.
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