India asks YouTube to take down videos of Abhinandan

MUMBAI: India has asked Alphabet’s YouTube to take down some videos showing an Indian pilot captured by Pakistan after an air strike conducted by New Delhi in neighbouring territory this week, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

YouTube has already complied with the Indian government’s order, said the source, who asked not to be identified as the request was not public.

“We comply with valid legal requests from authorities wherever possible, consistent with our longstanding policy and act quickly to remove such material,” said a spokesman for the company, while not commenting on the exact nature of the videos it had taken down.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said today that the Indian pilot is being released on Friday, in a bid to calm tensions between the two countries.

The IAF pilot was arrested after a PAF operation in which the force downed two Indian fighter jets.

“I’m wing commander Abhinandan and my service number is 27981,” the arrested Indian pilot said in the video statement soon after Pakistan’s security forces saved him from a mob of angry villagers.

#PakistanStrikeBack

In the wee hours of February 26, Indian aircraft intruded the LoC near Muzaffarabad sector, however they scrambled back following timely response from the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

Indian media immediately termed the failed operation “an air strike that targeted and killed 300 terrorists”. The very next day, PAF downed two Indian fighter jets and arrested IAF pilot Abhinandan.

Addressing media on Feburary 27, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor explained how Pakistan Air Force reacted in response on Indian intrusion.

“We locked all targets with accuracy, and when we had option to fire, we acted responsibly from a safe distance. We have capability to do anything, but we don’t want escalation. We don’t want to go towards war,” the DG asserted.

“After PAF decided on targets, two Indian jets entered Pakistani airspace and the PAF faced them. The two planes were shot down — one fell in our space and the other on their side. one pilot was arrested and has been taken to CMH and will be given proper care,” the military’s spokesman explained.