Pakistani songs removed from Indian streaming platforms following government order
Indian streaming platforms have begun taking down Pakistani music after a government directive issued earlier this month.
Several Indian streaming services have removed music by Pakistani artists after a government advisory issued on 8th May 2025.The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting instructed platforms to immediately take down content originating from Pakistan, citing national security concerns.
The advisory followed rising tensions between India and Pakistan, which escalated after a terrorist attack in Kashmir and subsequent cross-border air strikes. As reported by Music Ally, Spotify, Apple Music, Gaana and JioSaavn are among the services that have complied with the directive.
“In the interest of national security, all 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 its origins in Pakistan with immediate effect,” the advisory stated.
While “OTT” (over-the-top) usually refers to video content, in India the term is often used for music streaming services too.
The timing of this ban is significant. Pakistani music had been gaining popularity in India, with multiple songs charting highly on Spotify and Apple Music just weeks ago. Among them were ‘Jhol’ by Maanu and Annural Khalid, ‘Pal Pal’ by Afusic and AliSoomro Music, and ‘Maand’ by Bayaan, Hasan Raheem and Rovalio. In fact, teof the songs featured in Spotify India’s Weekly Top Songs chart were Pakistani.
The change has raised concerns about how music is regulated. Just before the advisory was issued, Spotify’s head of public affairs Dustee Jenkins told CNBC-TV18: “Music is not the same as other OTT content… Any regulatory changes must be carefully considered so as not to burden the industry or stifle its growth… The last thing India would want to do is put regulatory burdens on this industry that limit opportunity.” However, it’s important to note that Jenkins made this statement before the advisory, and was a general observation.
Distributors and platforms are now under pressure to screen and remove a vast amount of music content. According to MusicAlly, some album covers have been edited to remove images of Pakistani actors. Still, unofficial versions of songs – such as slowed-down edits or acoustic covers – are popping up again. It’s not always clear where these versions come from, but they often still trace back to the original Pakistani tracks.
As of yesterday, many of the songs removed from audio streaming platforms in India remained available on YouTube – India’s biggest music streaming platform. It is unclear how long it will be before this situation changes.