Meta has banned a prominent Muslim news page on Instagram in India at the government’s request, the account’s founder said Wednesday, denouncing the move as “censorship” as hostilities escalate between India and Pakistan, AFP reports.

Instagram users in India trying to access posts from the handle @Muslim — a page with 6.7 million followers — were met with a message stating: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”

There was no immediate reaction from the Indian government on the ban, which comes after access was blocked to the social media accounts of Pakistani actors and cricketers.

“I received hundreds of messages, emails and comments from our followers in India, that they cannot access our account,” Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh, the news account’s founder and editor-in-chief, said in a statement.

“Meta has blocked the @Muslim account by legal request of the Indian government. This is censorship.”

Meta declined to comment. A spokesman for the tech giant directed AFP to a company webpage outlining its policy for restricting content when governments believe material on its platforms goes “against local law.”

Opinion

Editorial

Collective security
12 Mar, 2026

Collective security

ERASING previously defined ‘red lines’, the brutal US-Israeli war on Iran has brought regional states face to...
Spectrum leap
12 Mar, 2026

Spectrum leap

THE sale of 480 MHz of fifth-generation telecom spectrum for $507m is a major milestone in Pakistan’s digital...
Toxic fallout
12 Mar, 2026

Toxic fallout

WARS can leave environmental scars that remain long after the fighting is over. The strikes on Iran’s oil...
Token austerity
Updated 11 Mar, 2026

Token austerity

The ‘austerity’ measures are a ritualistic response to public anger rather than a sincere attempt to reform state spending.
Lebanon on fire
11 Mar, 2026

Lebanon on fire

WHILE the entire Gulf region has become an active warzone, repercussions of this conflict have spread to the...
Canine crisis
11 Mar, 2026

Canine crisis

KARACHI’S stray dog crisis requires urgent attention. Feral canines can cause serious and lasting physical and...