Pakistani songs were removed from Spotify on Wednesday night following a government advisory. Popular tracks such as Maand, Jhol, Faasle and others have disappeared from the platform. 

The move comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor and the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

On May 8, the Government of India issued an advisory directing all OTT platforms, media streaming services and digital intermediaries to discontinue web series, films, songs, podcasts and other media content originating from Pakistan.

The advisory was issued under Part II of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. It reminds publishers and intermediaries of their obligation to “ensure that content hosted or streamed does not threaten India’s sovereignty, integrity, national security, or public order.”

The Ministry noted that several terrorist attacks in India have had cross-border links with state and non-state actors in Pakistan. Citing the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which led to the deaths of several Indian citizens and one Nepali national, the government stated that the advisory is being issued in the interest of national security.

The Code of Ethics under the IT Rules states that “publishers must exercise due caution and discretion while publishing any content that could affect India’s sovereignty, security, public order, or friendly relations with foreign countries.”

“OTT platforms, media streaming platforms and intermediaries operating in India are advised to discontinue the web-series, films, songs, podcasts and other streaming media content, whether made available on a subscription-based model or otherwise, having their origins in Pakistan with immediate effect,” the advisory read.

In line with this, changes were also noticed across various music platforms. Pakistani actors have been removed from the posters of their Hindi films. 

On Monday, Mawra Hocane’s image was missing from the Sanam Teri Kasam album covers on Spotify and YouTube Music, with only Harshvardhan Rane appearing in the artwork.

A similar edit was made to the album cover of Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees, where Mahira Khan’s image was removed. The updated poster now shows Shah Rukh Khan alone.

The song Buddhu Sa Mann from Kapoor & Sons, which featured Fawad Khan along with Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt, is currently unavailable on YouTube in India. The message displayed says, “Video unavailable. The uploader has not made this video available in your country.” The song was posted by Sony Music India, and its poster on music apps has also been altered to remove Fawad Khan.

Responding to the changes, Sanam Teri Kasam producer Deepak Mukut told Hindustan Times, “They didn’t ask me, it’s their decision. Whatever our government says, everyone has to follow.”