UP Police File Sedition Case Against Folk Singer and Professor Who Criticised Modi on Pahalgam; After Anti-Terror Rallies, Demolitions Sour Mood in Kashmir

A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by Tanweer Alam, Sidharth Bhatia, Pratik Kanjilal, Seema Chishti, Sushant Singh, MK Venu, and Siddharth Varadarajan | Contributing writer: Kalrav Joshi, with additional inputs by Anirudh SK

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Over to Siddharth Varadarajan for today’s Cable

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Snapshot of the day

April 28, 2025

Siddharth Varadarajan

Pakistani troops resorted to firing for the fourth consecutive night along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir’s Poonch and Kupwara districts, Army officials confirmed Monday. A defence spokesperson said, “During the night of April 27-28, Pakistan Army posts initiated unprovoked small arms fire across the LoC in areas opposite Kupwara and Poonch districts.” The Indian Army says it responded “swiftly and effectively” to the firing. There are no reports of any casualties.

India on Monday banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels with a combined viewership of 63 million subscribers – including several mainstream news channels – for “spreading provocative content” and “misinformation against India”, the action coming on the heels of a range of punitive measures, including suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, against islamabad following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. The YouTube channels banned on the “recommendations of the ministry of home affairs”, as per news agencies PTI and ANI, include Geo News, Dawn News, Samaa TV, Ary News and a number of YouTubers and influencers. The government has accused them of disseminating communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India, the Indian Army and security agencies.

Do these channels pose a serious threat to law and order or is this a case of thin-skinnedness combined with perception management? Here’s a clue: