Voice Calls, SMS Restored on Prepaid Services in J&K

Representative Image
Representative Image

SMS and Voice Calls have been restored for prepaidmobile connections in Jammu and Kashmir, said officials of the union territoryon Saturday, in the latest measure to relax some of the severe restrictionsenforced last August.

2G internet services will also be restored with somerestrictions on postpaid SIM cards in Bandipora and Kupwara districts ofKashmir and 10 other districts of Jammu, said senior officer Rohit Kansal whileaddressing a press conference.

He said that to give mobile internet connectivity on such SIM cards, the telecom service providers will have to verify the credentials of the subscribers. Internet service providers have also been asked to provide fixed-line internet connectivity in all the 10 districts of the Jammu region and two districts, Kupwara and Bandipora, in North Kashmir, said Kansal.

The center had enforced a strict communications blackout in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year, when it scrapped the erstwhile state's special status under Section 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated it into two union territories. The extended blackout has been criticized by many in India and Abroad, including the United Nations and the US government.

The decision to restore connectivity came after theSupreme Court, in response to a petition last week, ordered a review of all therestrictive orders that are still in place. This, the court said, should bedone within a week. "Suspension of free movement, Internet and basicfreedoms cannot be an arbitrary exercise of power," the court said.

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