India's digital strike on Pakistan: Release of Fawad Khan's Abir Gulaal pushed, Zee Zindagi deletes content from YouTube

Following the Centre's guidelines against Pakistani content on OTT and streaming platforms as well as digital intermediaries, the release of Abir Gulaal, featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan and Vaani Kapoor in lead roles, has been pushed indefinitely as tensions heat up between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor.  Abir Gulaal was slated to release in India on May 9, but its release was initially put on hold following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. 

The film has been at the centre of controversy in India since actors' associations called for a ban on Pakistani artists in Indian movies. Not just this, Zee Zindagi has deleted all its content from YouTube following India's strong directive against Pakistani content on OTT and streaming platforms. 

The developments come a day after the Centre issued an advisory to OTT platforms, streaming platforms, and digital intermediaries to take down content originating from Pakistan "with immediate effect". 

The advisory issued by the Ministry of Information (MIB) said that content, including web series, songs, films, podcasts and others, originating from Pakistan shall be discontinued. 

“In the interest of national security, all OTT platforms, media streaming platforms and intermediaries operating in India are advised to discontinue the web-series, films, songs, podcasts and other streaming media content, whether made available on a subscription-based model or otherwise, having its origins in Pakistan with immediate effect,” the advisory said.

OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar, along with digital intermediaries like YouTube and Spotify, can review and remove content from Pakistan since the advisory is non-binding.

The guidelines came amid worsening border tensions between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor and the artillery shelling by Pakistan in response. On the intervening night of May 6-7, the Indian armed forces conducted a series of precision strikes that destroyed 9 terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). 

The action was India's response to the dastardly terror attack in J&K's Pahalgam on April 22, wherein 26 people lost their lives. 

Not just this, the social media accounts of several Pakistani artists, including Hania Aamir, Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Abida Parveen, and Ali Fazal, have also been blocked in India.