YouTuber becomes India’s newest face in anti-ISI narrative

Haryana Police in India have arrested a 30-year-old YouTuber, Wasim Akram, from Palwal district on accusations of spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi.

According to Indian media reports, Akram first came into contact with a Pakistani agent, identified as Danish, in 2021 while applying for a visa to Pakistan.

Read: 'Be-Gunah' takes on India's false flag

According to media reports, he was later found supplying Pakistani handlers with SIM cards, facilitating internet calls, and sharing sensitive information through encrypted applications.

Indian police confirmed that Akram has been booked under the Official Secrets Act and the Information Technology Act 2000. His arrest, they said, was based on leads from another suspect, Taufiq, who was detained last week.

Indian media noted that the case reflects a wider pattern of ISI’s recruitment methods through social media influencers.

Read More: India welcome to collect trophy from me: Naqvi

This is not the first time Indian authorities have claimed to bust an espionage network.

In May, Hisar-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who ran a channel titled "Travel with Jo" was arrested in May 2025 on allegations of maintaining contact with a Pakistan High Commission staffer during her visits to Pakistan.

Within the same fortnight, nine more individuals were also detained across Punjab and Haryana — ranging from a factory guard and a student accused of photographing cantonments, to a tailor and cobbler working inside Bathinda Cantonment, and two residents of Malerkotla accused of assisting a Pakistani official.

Indian media said the arrests pointed to a supposed pattern of the ISI recruiting civilians, including social media influencers, to pass sensitive information through covert channels.