Pakistan

India bans Pakistan-based Vidly TV for exposing Hindutva extremism

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

India says “Vidly TV” blocked for airing web series against national security and integrity.
Action taken for airing “Sevak: The Confessions.”
Web series shows events like Babri Mosque demolition in Ayodhya.

ISLAMABAD: New Delhi has banned Pakistan-based Vidly TV’s over-the-top (OTT) platform, apps and social media accounts in India as it has been streaming historical events, the plight of minorities under growing Hindutva menace and gaining popularity among the Indian population.

The Indian government said it had blocked Vidly TV in the country for airing a web series against India’s national “security and integrity.”

India’s ministry of information and broadcasting has also slapped a ban on the platform’s website, two mobile apps, and four social media accounts by issuing an order under its emergency powers of IT Rules 2021.

An Indian ministry official told the media that the government’s action against Pakistan-based Vidly TV followed the web series “Sevak: The Confessions.”

The OTT channel’s web series showed events like Babri Mosque demolition in Ayodhya, Operation Blue Star, Malegaon blast, and Samjhauta Express blast among others.

India bans mostly Chinese apps

This is not the first time that New Delhi has banned apps of another country in India.

In June 2020, India blocked access to 59, mostly Chinese, mobile apps including Bytedance’s TikTok, Alibaba’s UC Browser, and Tencent’s WeChat citing security concerns.

The apps are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”, the ministry of information technology had said back then.

The ban came after a deadly border conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

In February of this year, India blocked access to 54 more mobile apps, mainly Chinese but also including Singapore-based Sea Ltd’s “Free Fire” mobile game, over security concerns.

Since the start of political tension with China in 2020 following a border clash, India’s ban list, which initially had 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, had expanded to cover 321 apps.

India believes user data was being sent via the apps to servers in China, one of the government sources, who sought anonymity in line with policy, told Reuters.

Such collection would allow the data to be mined, collated, analysed and profiled, potentially by “elements hostile to the sovereignty and integrity of India and for activities detrimental to national security,” the source said.

Latest News

Saad Rafiq: Ali Amin Gandapur’s threat to storm Islamabad is a major issue.

Published

4 hours ago

Farwa

Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has threatened to storm Islamabad, according to Khawaja Saad Rafique, a former minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). This is a very serious situation.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration has reportedly launched attacks on the federal capital in the past in an attempt to seize Islamabad, according to Saad Rafiq on the social media platform X (previously Twitter).

“However, PTI got nothing and it resulted in creating chaos, hatred and economic destruction,” he continued.

He added, “If the anarchists attack Islamabad to occupy it this time too, it will become impossible for them to return as rulers.”

According to the leader of the PML-N, fascist behavior will no longer be accepted, and the dirty politics of violence, fire, and ransacking will no longer be effective.

The PTI, he said, has to act rationally and refrain from inciting another May 9.

Latest News

IHC will consider a case today challenging the election of the Senate chairman and deputy

Published

4 hours ago

Farwa

Today is the scheduled hearing for the suit seeking action against the chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate election violations before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The case against the violation of the custodians of the Senate election will be heard by Justice Aamer Farooq of IHC.

The April 9th Senate election, which was held in violation of Article 60 of the Constitution, was highlighted in the petition.

According to the plea, it was alarming that the poll Commission had decided to postpone the Senate poll till after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

On the grounds of constitutional violations, a petition was filed to declare the April 9 Senate election, which included the chairman and deputy chairman, illegal.

Relevantly, Ishba Kamran, a resident of Sargodha, has also filed a motion in court to initiate Article 6 proceedings.

Latest News

The first Air Ambulance Service training session in Pakistan begins.

Published

4 hours ago

Farwa

The first training session for the Air Ambulance Service of Pakistan has commenced.

A unique meeting was conducted to assess the service’s advancement, overseen by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

Aside from the Punjab chief secretary, secretary of finance, and director general of rescue services, other officials in attendance included provincial information minister Azma Bukhari.

The announcement that the first Air Ambulance Service training session had begun was made at the briefing.

CM Maryam Nawaz announced her resolve to grow the service’s operations while highlighting the initiative’s importance.

Her commitment to utilizing all provincial resources for the welfare and improvement of the public was reaffirmed as she emphasized its vital role in responding to crises and accidents in remote places.

The air ambulance service will be deployed in emergency situations and made available to other provinces as needed, she said, emphasizing the importance of protecting human life.