ISLAMABAD, July 8: A local court in Islamabad has ordered the blocking of 27 popular YouTube channels accused of spreading content considered “anti-state.”
The decision was actually issued on June 24, 2025, by Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah, on the request of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). However, it came to public attention on Tuesday when YouTube began issuing notices to the identified channels following directives from Pakistani authorities. The FIA’s Cyber Crime Wing had launched the investigation on June 2, 2025.
According to the court order, the FIA found that several YouTube channels were allegedly sharing material in violation of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) and other Pakistani laws.
The court stated that, based on the evidence provided by the FIA, it was convinced that the channels had committed offences punishable under Peca and other penal laws. The judge allowed the FIA to take legal action as per the law.
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The court, acting on the request of an FIA investigating officer, directed YouTube (Google LLC) to block or remove access to the 27 named channels. These include the channels of Orya Maqbool Jan, Arzoo Kazmi, Siddique Jan, Imran Riaz Khan, Aftab Iqbal, Ahmad Noorani, Matiullah Jan, Imran Khan, and Asad Toor, among others. YouTube has reportedly issued notices to all the channels mentioned in the order.
This directive was made under Section 94 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
It is worth mentioning that earlier this year, the controversial Peca (Amendment) Bill 2025 was signed into law. The law introduced new definitions, tougher punishments, and the creation of new regulatory bodies to deal with the spread of “false” information online.
