In a sweeping order made in the face of rising tensions with Pakistan, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting directed all OTT platforms working in India to immediately stop airing Pakistani content. The notification, tweeted by news agency ANI, read, In the pursuit of national security, all OTT platforms, media streaming platforms, and intermediaries present in India are requested to halt the web-series, movies, songs, podcasts, and other streaming media content, whether available on a subscription model or otherwise, originating from Pakistan with immediate effect.
This historic move follows India’s strong military reaction to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, predominantly tourists. Indian armed forces carried out targeted attacks on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor between 1.04 am and 1.30 am on Wednesday.
Financial and Cultural Reverberations
As tensions escalate, the ripple effects have spilled over to financial markets and also to the entertainment sector. Markets have proven volatile, with non-deliverable forwards for the Indian rupee capturing expected economic instability. In the meantime, Pakistan reacted to India’s strikes by sealing its airspace, according to Pakistan International Airlines Corp.
At the cultural front, the government of India has acted very fast in order to deny access to some social media pages belonging to popular Pakistani stars. Among these stars include Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Hania Amir, Atif Aslam, among others. These Indian users find a notice telling them that the account “is not available in India. Because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”
Fawad Khan, who was set to make a comeback to Bollywood with Abir Gulaal alongside Vaani Kapoor, now has an uncertain project status. Others impacted include Farhan Saeed, Ali Sethi, Saba Qamar, and Adnan Siddiqui—all big names whose content is now out of reach for Indian viewers.
Although this action is presented as an issue of national security, it greatly distorts the transnational cultural scene and heralds a toughening approach in India’s foreign policy and public policy stance towards Pakistan.
