JOIN USThree days after the Jammu and Kashmir government banned social networking sites to calm tensions, 3G and 4G internet services were restored in the Valley on Saturday.
The government had banned high-speed internet connectivity in Kashmir following widespread students’ protests on April 15.
The decision had not augured well with the business and traders community in Kashmir who claimed of incurring losses, as they were unable to make online transaction and carry out other business activities which require internet.
The Valley’s apex business body Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry had urged the government to not suspend internet at the whiff of air.
However, ban on 22 social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, remains enforced. The ban was enforced after several videos depicting the “abuse” of Kashmiris by security forces went viral.
Asked to explain the logic behind suspension of the internet, a senior police officer said that the main purpose of the blockade was to stop the spiral of “protests and violence”.
“Pakistani elements get to work when there is a situation which can be exploited. We feared that protests might increase and go out of control. So we decided to snap internet,” he said.
DH News Service