The decision was taken in the aftermath of the terror attack in which at least 26 people were killed at a popular tourist spot in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
Since the terror attack, India has taken a plenty of measures against Pakistan over its support to terrorism. Earlier, India blocked the X account of the Government of Pakistan.
In a major crackdown following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead, India has banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for spreading provocative, communally sensitive content and false narratives against India, its army, and security agencies, government sources said. In addition, former Pakistani Crickter Shoaib Akhtar’s separate YouTube channel, with over 3.5 million subscribers, has also been banned.
Government sources said the action was taken on the recommendations of the Ministry of Home Affairs after it was found that these channels were spreading misinformation, false narratives, and content designed to incite communal tensions, particularly in the aftermath of the Pahalgam tragedy.
A source said that after the BBC India termed the terrorists as “militants” in one of its reports, the Centre approached the channel head, Jackie Martin, via the Ministry of External Affairs, and conveyed their strong sentiments to him. “New Delhi’s concerns have been strongly conveyed to the BBC by the MEA XP Division, and now the XP Division will be monitoring further reporting of the BBC,” the source said.
Similar concerns have also been expressed to American news agency AP (Associated Press) and UK-based news agency Reuters, sources told to Indian Media. The MEA will continue to monitor the reportage and flag to those concerned about anything which it feels undermines the severity of the situation, or is factually incorrect.
Another source said several Pakistan URLs are duping Indians after claiming that they are collecting money for war, and the MHA, with the help of I4C, has blocked several URLs in the last four days. “The Centre has issued directions to all the ministries, departments, and agencies to strengthen their cyber system to prevent any cyber-attack generated from the Pakistan-based hacker groups,” the source said.
The government has also warned the BBC over a headline that read, “Pakistan suspends visas for Indians after deadly Kashmir attack on tourists”. Several social media users had pointed out that the headline read as if “India killed the tourists”. The External Publicity Department of the Ministry of External Affairs has said the country’s “strong sentiments” have been conveyed to Jackie Martin, India Head for BBC, regarding their reporting on the terror attack, sources have said. A formal letter on BBC referring to terrorists as militants has also been sent. The government, the sources said, will monitor BBC’s reporting.
BBC India is under the scrutiny of the government for biased reporting on the Pahalgam terror attack.
(Inputs from Agencies)
