Fact Check: Did Babar Azam Criticize Pakistan Army For Pahalgam Terror Attack?

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Pakistan star batter Babar Azam's Instagram story condemning the Pakistan Army for the Pahalgam terror attack after his Instagram account was blocked in India has gone viral on social media.

India on Friday blocked Instagram accounts of leading current and former Pakistani cricketers including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Wasim Akram, intensifying its digital crackdown on influential personalities across the border in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Moments after the news of the Pakistan cricketers accounts being blocked in India, an alleged post by Babar in which he seemingly blames dirty act of the Pakistani army for the recent terror attack in Pahalgam did the buzz on social media.

"As a cricketer, I have always loved playing in India and I have considered it as my second home. It is unfortunate that my Instagram account was blocked in India. I want to make it absolutely clear that cricketers are not involved in the Pahalgam attack," Babar's alleged Instagram story read.

"What's happening is the result of the dirty act of Pakistan army. I won't take names but everyone knows who truly holds the power in Pakistan and who continues to protect and support terrorism. To the Pakistan Army, your actions are making innocent Pakistanis suffer. Stop sponsoring terrorism. Pakistan Zindabad." But did Babar really post that?

Did Babar Azam post a story on his Instagram account condemning the Pakistan army for the Pahalgam terror attack?

The post went viral on social media, but many users have confirmed that the story was fake. Although users in India could not confirm the authenticity of the post, users from outside India confirmed that the story was indeed fake.

Apart from Babar, Rizwan and Akram, the list of restricted accounts in India also includes Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood, pacers Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah, batter Imam-ul-Haq, all rounder Shadab Khan and former stars Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi.

Additionally, the account of Pakistan's former Prime Minister and cricket captain Imran Khan is also now inaccessible in India. Users attempting to access their Instagram page from India are met with the message: "Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content."

"We received a legal request to restrict this content. We reviewed it against our policies and conducted a legal and human rights assessment. After the review, we restricted access to the content in the location where it goes against local law,"a added the note from Instagram.