Arshad Nadeem's Instagram account blocked in India

NEW DELHI: India has blocked Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem’s Instagram account on Thursday following the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir (IIOK).

According to Indian media reports, Arshad Nadeem Instagram account has been blocked owing to a “legal request”.

Users attempting to access Arshad Nadeem’s page met with a message stating, “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request”, Hindustan Times wrote.

Further steps mentioned the following: “We received a legal request to restrict this content. We reviewed it against our policies and conducted a legal and human rights assessment. After the review, we restricted access to the content in the location where it goes against local law,” Instagram said.

New Delhi had also blocked Shoaib Akhtar’s YouTube channel. In addition to blocking Akhtar’s channel, Indian government shut down 16 Pakistani news channels that raised questions about the Pahalgam tragedy.

According to The Hindu report, Pakistani YouTube channels, which collectively have around 63 million subscribers, include major Pakistani news channels including ARY News, Dawn News, Samaa TV, Bol News, Raftar, Geo News, and Suno News.

YouTube channels run by journalists like Irshad Bhatti, Asma Shirazi, Umar Cheema, and Muneeb Farooq have also been blocked for Indian users.

Last month, 26 people were killed at a tourist site in Pahalgam area of Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). India claimed without presenting any evidence that there were Pakistani elements linked to the attack, a claim Islamabad denies.

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Earlier, Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra spoke out against the criticism by hatemongers for inviting Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem to the Neeraj Chopra Classic javelin event in Bengaluru on May 24.

Neeraj Chopra had personally invited Nadeem to compete in the event, however, Nadeem declined the invitation due to scheduling conflicts for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships.

In a social media post, Chopra expressed his disappointment over the hate and abuse he received from extremists elements in India, saying, “It hurts to see my integrity being questioned. It pains me that I have to explain myself to people who are targeting me and my family, with no good reason.”

He informed that the invites were sent to all athletes on Monday, two days before the Pahalgam attack.