Srinagar
Most mobile phone connections in Indian Occupied Kashmir will be restored, the Indian government said on Saturday after it imposed a shutdown of more than two months since ending the disputed region’s autonomy on August 5.
Indian govt spokesman Rohit Kansal said the decision had been taken after a review of events in the restive Himalayan region.
“All post-paid mobile phones irrespective of the telecom service provider will stand restored and be functional from noon on Monday,” he told a press conference. He added that the measure would apply to all districts of occupied Kashmir.
In the two months since India scrapped Article 370 which granted special autonomy to IOK, the Modi government has been widely censured for imposing complete information and communications blackout in the occupied valley.
While Indian media insists the situation in the occupied region is ‘normal’, international media and organisations have reported grave human rights violations, including arrests and enforced disappearances of children and political leaders.
They have also exposed the underreporting of deaths of Kashmiris killed by the occupying Indian forces. Earlier this month, US Senator Chris Van Hollen was denied permission to visit the occupied region. “If the Indian government has nothing to hide, they should not worry about people visiting Kashmir and witnessing the situation with their own eyes,” emphasised the senator.
Meanwhile, after failing to restore normalcy in the territory, Indian authorities have issued a jacket advertisement in local newspapers, trying to persuade the people to end the self-imposed continued shutdown.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in the first of the series of advertisements, the occupation authorities have tried to tell the people about the benefits of the repeal of special status of Kashmir. It was published in the local newspapers in the last week of August.
The message in the advertisement published on Friday read, “Closed Shops. No Public Transport. Who Benefits? …….Think!” This seems to be the campaign by the authorities against the continuous shutdown being observed by the people in the Valley on their own to express their resentment against Indian government’s decision of revoking the special status of the territory.
