HIGH-SPEED 4G BAN EXTENDED IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR TILL JANUARY 8

Sat 26 December 2020:

The ban on 4G internet in Jammu and Kashmir has been extended till January 8, said an order issued by the Union Territory’s administration on Friday.

“The internet speed shall be continued to be restricted to 2G, except the districts of Ganderbal and Udhampur, where mobile internet connectivity shall be continued to be made available without any speed-related restrictions,” said a statement issued by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The aforesaid directions shall be effective December 26, 2020, and remain in force till January 8, 2021, unless modified earlier,” it further said.

There were credible inputs that a large number of terrorists were trying to infiltrate from across the border, the order said while adding that curbs on high-speed internet had obstructed the attempts.

The administration cited the recently held Panchayat elections that saw participation by political parties, and said that it had gone down well with the “elements inimical to public peace and tranquility”.

Ban on 4G internet service to continue across J&K, except Ganderbal and Udhampur districts till 8th January, 2021 #4G pic.twitter.com/Bt0Su8wCLe

— CNS Kashmir (@cnskashmir) December 25, 2020

Mobile internet services were suspended in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year, in view of security concerns in the region after Article 370 was abrogated by the Central government.

The Central government also bifurcated the former State into Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The new UTs came into being on October 31.

In August, the Jammu-Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a prominent rights group in Indian-administered Kashmir, called the communications blackout a “collective punishment” against the Kashmiris and urged the international community to question New Delhi over the “digital apartheid”.

Several human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly urged India to restore full internet access in the disputed region, with the calls gaining steam amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The conflict in Indian-administered Kashmir has existed since the late 1940s when India and Pakistan won independence from the British rule and began fighting over rival claims to the Muslim-majority territory.

The two rivals, who claim the Kashmir territory in full but administer parts of it, have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region.