New Delhi: Amid rising tensions with Islamabad after the Pahalgam terror attack, India on Friday blocked the YouTube channel of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The ties between both countries further nosedived in recent days after 26 people lost their lives and several others were injured in a terror attack in Pahalgam.
The Centre had earlier blocked as many as 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for spreading “false, provocative, and communally sensitive content” about India. It also strongly objected to the BBC’s reporting on the Pahalgam incident.
Issuing a message on Friday, the Centre said, “The 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.” The Centre will also monitor the reporting of BBC which termed terrorists as militants in its coverages.
Several Pakistani YouTube channels were blocked by India
Among the Pakistani channels that have already been blocked are – Dawn News, Irshad Bhatti, SAMAA TV, ARY NEWS, BOL NEWS, Raftar, The Pakistan Reference, Geo News, Samaa Sports, GNN, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema Exclusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, SUNO News and Razi Naama.
After the terror attack, India has taken several steps against Pakistan, which include the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and asking Pakistani citizens to leave the country. It also closed its airspace for Pakistani flights, days after a similar step was taken by Islamabad, which also suspended the Simla treaty with India. The treaty was signed in 1972 between then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and then-Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to restore peace in the region after the 1971 war.