A Pakistani court on Tuesday ordered a ban on 27 YouTube channels including those operated by prominent journalists, citing their alleged anti-state content.
The Islamabad-based court issued its judgment on the evidence presented by the government’s Federal Investigation Agency.
The two-page written judgment directed authorities to take immediate action against the identified channels.
Among the banned platforms are widely followed channels run by journalists Matiullah Jan, Asad Toor, Siddique Jan, Orya Maqbool Jan, and Habib Akram, as well as several channels affiliated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan.
Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah issued the order on a petition submitted by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency.
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The petition argued that the channels in question were engaged in spreading “disinformation, fake news, and content deemed inflammatory and insulting towards state institutions and senior officials.”
The petition claimed that the material could incite fear, hatred, and mistrust among the public, thereby posing a threat to national security and public order.
“The content published on these platforms is highly inflammatory, derogatory, and incites hatred against the army, judiciary, and other state institutions,” the petition claimed, adding that it threatened social cohesion and the stability of the state.
The FIA initiated an inquiry on the petition on June 2.
Following the investigation and a detailed examination of the submitted evidence, the court concluded that the content fell within the ambit of punishable offenses under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), the court said.
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The written order noted: “The inquiry officer has provided sufficient material to demonstrate that the said channels are involved in uploading content that is offensive in nature and in violation of law. The court finds the evidence satisfactory for further action.”
The crackdown comes months after the Parliament enacted a highly controversial PECA (Amendment) Bill 2025 that became law in January.
This law introduced strict regulations, newer definitions, and powerful regulatory bodies and imposed harsher penalties for spreading so-called “false” information than the previous laws.
The amended PECA Law allows anyone who feels harmed by fake or misleading content to file a complaint. Once received, the authority is required to respond and act usually within 24 hours. These actions often involve content removal or a ban on the platform in question.
Pakistan’s opposition political parties and media organizations have denounced the law as a “tool to suppress dissent.”
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