WASHINGTON – Meta, the social media company, on Friday blocked the Instagram account of the popular Muslim news page “@Muslim” in India amid the worst tensions between India and Pakistan in two decades.
Muslim has 6.7 million followers.
The account’s founder and chief editor, Ameer Al-Khataab, termed the move “censorship” and stated that access to the account was restricted following a legal request from the Indian government.
The Indian users attempting to access the account are met with the message: “This account is not available in India because we have restricted it in response to a legal request.”
Meta has not issued an official statement on the matter. However, a company spokesperson commented briefly, saying that Meta restricts certain content globally in accordance with local laws.
This development comes at a time when social media accounts of several prominent Pakistani figures — including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, cricketers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, and artists Fawad Khan and Atif Aslam — have already been blocked in India.
Apologizing to his Indian followers, Ameer Al-Khataab said, “When governments and platforms attempt to silence the media, it only reinforces that we are doing the right thing. We will continue to raise our voices for justice and truth.”
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