Delhi bans trade, shipping, mail with Islamabad

Blocks access to social media accounts of Pakistani celebrities

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NEW DELHI:

India widened its punitive measures against Pakistan on Saturday, banning the import of goods coming from or transiting via Pakistan and barring Pakistani ships as well as blocking access to the social media accounts of Pakistani actors and cricketers.

India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification that the ban would take effect immediately. "This restriction is imposed in the interest of national security and public policy," it said.

India said Pakistani-flagged ships would not be allowed to visit any Indian port, and Indian flagged-ships would not visit any ports in Pakistan.

"This order is issued to ensure safety of Indian assets, cargo and connected infrastructure, in public interest and for interest of Indian shipping," the Directorate General of Shipping said in a statement. Trade between the two nations has dwindled over the last few years.

Also, India's communications ministry issued a statement, saying it had "decided to suspend the exchange of all categories of inbound mail and parcels from Pakistan through air and surface routes".

The move, however, is seen as largely symbolic, as regular diplomatic flare-ups between the two neighbours over decades have prevented close economic ties. But cultural ties remain far stronger.

On social media, India banned on April 28 more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading "provocative" content, including Pakistani news outlets.

On Saturday, further restrictions blocked access in India to the Instagram account of Pakistan's ex-prime minister Imran Khan.

Bollywood movie regulars Fawad Khan and Atif Aslam were also off limits, as well as a wide range of cricketers – including star batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan and retired players Shahid Afridi and Wasim Akram.

Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem's Instagram account was also no longer accessible to Indian users, reflecting the broad scope of the clampdown beyond just cricket.

Users in India attempting to access these accounts are shown a message indicating that they are unavailable due to compliance with a legal request.