India blocks X accounts of Imran Khan, Bilawal Bhutto amid rising tensions

New Delhi: The social media accounts of prominent Pakistani political figures, including Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were withheld in India on Sunday. 

The accounts, flagged with the message “withheld in India in response to a legal demand,” mark the latest in a series of digital restrictions amid deteriorating India-Pakistan relations.

This move follows a deadly terrorist attack on April 22, 2025, in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives and injured 17. 

India has attributed the attack to cross-border terrorism supported by Pakistan, prompting a slew of retaliatory measures. 

Earlier on Sunday, Indian authorities blocked the Instagram account of Pakistani singer Atif Aslam in India.

Earlier, on May 1, India blocked the Instagram accounts of several Pakistani influencers, including Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan, citing similar legal requests. The Indian government had also previously suspended the official X account of the Government of Pakistan and 16 Pakistani YouTube channels.

Beyond the digital realm, India has escalated its diplomatic response by suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, closing the Attari-Wagah border, and revoking SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme privileges for Pakistani nationals. Additionally, India has declared Pakistani defense advisers in New Delhi persona non grata and is reducing its High Commission staff in Pakistan from 55 to 30, while recalling military personnel from Islamabad.

Pakistan has responded in kind, closing the Wagah border, suspending visas for Indian nationals under the SAARC scheme, and expelling Indian military advisers from Islamabad. Tensions over the Indus Waters Treaty have also intensified, with Pakistan warning that any disruption to its water supply would be considered an “act of war.”