Meta restricts access in India to Instagram post on Kashmir pellet victim Insha Mushtaq

Meta has restricted access in India to an Instagram post containing a report on Insha Mushtaq, who was blinded by pellets fired by security forces in Kashmir in 2016.

A notice displayed on the link to The Hindu report said the content had been withheld to comply with Indian law.

“We restricted access to this content pursuant to legal requirements under India’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules,” the message read on Saturday afternoon.

It was not immediately clear which government agency had sought the restriction, or which specific provision of the rules had been invoked. The post’s availability outside India was also not immediately known.

The restriction comes amid renewed scrutiny of pellet guns following protests organised by the Cockroach Janta Party and other young demonstrators at Jantar Mantar on 20 July. The Supreme Court has also been hearing petitions challenging the use of the weapons.

The renewed attention prompted the Jammu and Kashmir government to announce an LPG dealership for Mushtaq, nearly a decade after she suffered life-altering injuries.

Mushtaq was studying for her Class 8 examination near a window at her home in July 2016 when security forces pursuing protesters fired a volley of pellets. Dozens struck her eyes, leaving her permanently blind.

Pellet guns were used extensively during the unrest that followed the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter in south Kashmir in 2016.

More than 6,000 civilians suffered pellet injuries during the protests that year. The weapons have since faced sustained criticism over their indiscriminate spread and potential to cause permanent disability.