Internet access has been restored in the entire Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir, however, it will be possible to access only a limited list of sites, the NDTV channel reports with reference to the local Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Internet connection in the region will be carried out using the relatively slow 2G technology.
“It is hereby prescribed that mobile data services and fixed-line Internet access will be allowed throughout the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir with the following restrictions <…> The above order will enter into force on January 25, 2020 and will remain in effect until January 31, 2020 if it will not be changed earlier”, – the order of the Ministry of the Interior of the Territory Administration says.
Earlier in January, Internet access was restored only in part of the Union territory. The Indian Supreme Court on January 10 decided to immediately review the decision to restrict Internet access in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Restrictions on the use of Internet connections were introduced in the Indian part of Kashmir in August after the adoption of the law on the abolition of the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The situation in northern India sharply worsened after New Delhi announced on August 5 a decision to abolish the state of Jammu and Kashmir, creating on its basis two union territories (administrative units that have less rights than the state): Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. To do this, the Indian Parliament repealed article 370 of the constitution, which gave the state special status. Pakistan, which claims to be the Indian part of Kashmir, strongly condemned this decision.
After the Muslim regions of British India formed a separate state of Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir was the only Indian state where the majority are Muslims. Separatists are actively operating there, of which the Pakistani authorities accuse New Delhi of support. Islamabad rejects these allegations, saying that the residents of Kashmir are independently fighting for their rights.