Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan, other Pakistani actors' Instagram accounts blocked in India days after Pahalgam terror attack: 'This is because we...'

Fawad Khan's Bollywood comeback Abir Gulaal was set to release in India on May 9, but then a deadly terror attack on the tourists claimed around 26 lives in the Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir. After the horrific tragedy, there had been calls to reimpose the ban on the Pakistani artistes in India. The government sources have also stated that Abir Gulaal, which also stars Vaani Kapoor, will not release in India. And now eight days after the Pahalgam attack, the Instagram accounts of several Pakistani celebrities have been blocked in India. These include Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar, Ayeza Khan, Sajal Ali, Sanam Saeed, Maya Ali, and Iqra Aziz Hussain. Fawad Khan's account is still accessible in India, as of now.

The blocked accounts of Pakistani celebrities now reads, "Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content." On clicking the See Why tab, anothe panel opens with the explanation why this step has been taken. "How we made this decision: 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."

The most followed Pakistani celebrity on Instagram with over 18 million followers, Hania Aamir was set to make her Indian film debut in Sardaar Ji 3 with Diljit Dosanjh. After the terrorist attack, the makers are now considering removing Hania's portions from the film and replacing her with another actress. Mahira Khan starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the 2017 crime drama Raees. There had been calls to ban the Rahul Dholakia film too, but the film released smoothly. Ali Zafar has also acted in several Bollywood films including Tere Bin Laden, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Kill Dil, and Dear Zindagi among others.

Meanwhile, in the Pahalgam attack, the terrorists reportedly segregated the tourists based on their faith and shot them dead after finding out their religion. The terrorist outfit, The Resistance Front (TRF) has claimed responsibility for the attack. TRF is an off-shoot of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba and came into existence following the historic abrogation of Article 370 in the valley.

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