India bans 16 Pakistani YouTube channels over misinformation after Pahalgam terror attack

NEW DELHI: Following the terror attack in Pahalgam, the Indian government on Monday banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including several major news outlets such as Dawn, Samaa TV, ARY News, Geo News, Razi Naama, GNN, and Irshad Bhatti’s channel, officials said.

According to officials, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting acted on a recommendation from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after it was found that these channels were "spreading communally sensitive content and misinformation against India."

A senior official stated, "On the MHA’s recommendation, the Government of India has banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including Dawn News, Samaa TV, ARY News, and Geo News, for promoting provocative, communally sensitive content, and false narratives against India, its Army, and its security agencies, especially after the tragic Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir."

The combined subscriber base of these 16 banned channels is around 63.08 million, according to a list shared by officials. The banned channels include both news agencies and individual creators: 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 HD, and Razi Naama.

Officials added that these channels are now inaccessible in India, and warned that any other platforms spreading misinformation against India and its security forces will also face similar action.

Additionally, the government has taken up the matter with the BBC over its coverage of the Pahalgam attack. A senior official said, "The XP division of the Ministry of External Affairs has conveyed strong concerns to Jackie Martin (BBC India Head) regarding their portrayal of the terrorists as militants. A formal letter has been sent to BBC criticizing this terminology, and the XP division will continue monitoring future reporting."

This move comes after the U.S. government also criticized The New York Times for using the term "militants" instead of "terrorists" in its coverage, with the U.S. Senate panel and House Foreign Affairs Committee stating that such language downplays the seriousness of the attack.

Meanwhile, tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated further. India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), cancelled visas issued to Pakistani nationals, and intensified retaliatory action following continuous ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops over the past three nights along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara and Poonch districts.

Indian forces have been responding to Pakistani fire with appropriate retaliation, though no casualties have been reported so far.

Following the deadly Pahalgam attack, India has also expelled Pakistani military attachés, closed the Attari land-transit post, and taken several strong diplomatic measures. These decisions were finalized in a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who pledged that India would "identify, track, and punish" the terrorists and their "backers" responsible for the attack.

In response, Pakistan has suspended all bilateral agreements with India, including the 1972 Simla Agreement.

Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack, intensifying efforts to collect evidence and interrogating several overground workers and jailed terrorists aggressively.