In a significant development following the April 22 terror attack near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, several high-profile Pakistani Instagram accounts, including those of cricketers and Mohammad Rizwan, have been restricted in India.

Also impacted by the move are former legends like Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, and Shahid Afridi, as well as current players such as Test captain Shan Masood, Naseem Shah, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, and Imam-ul-Haq.

Users attempting to access these profiles from Indian IP addresses are now greeted with a message stating:

"Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content."

The decision appears to be part of a broader digital crackdown by Indian authorities aimed at curbing the influence of social media figures across the border following the attack that claimed the lives of 26 people, including tourists, in south Kashmir. Among the restricted accounts is also that of former Pakistan Prime Minister and cricket captain Imran Khan.

Meta-owned Instagram provided a brief explanation to users trying to access these blocked profiles:

“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.”

While many leading cricket personalities have been impacted, some notable names like Waqar Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq remain accessible on the platform in India for now and are expected to be banned soon.

These Instagram restrictions come on the heels of earlier action against Pakistani YouTube channels, which included accounts belonging to cricketers like Shoaib Akhtar, Basit Ali, and Shahid Afridi.

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The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had cited reasons such as spreading "provocative and communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives, and misinformation against India, its Army, and security agencies."

The latest move also included the blocking of Pakistan’s Olympic javelin star Arshad Nadeem’s Instagram account on May 1, indicating a sweeping ban on digital content linked to Pakistan.