India on Friday banned some phone users in held Kashmir from sending SMS text messages, causing anger on the streets and provoking the wrath of the volatile region's chief minister. In an unexpected announcement, India's telecommunications and information technology ministries banned subscribers with monthly contracts from sending messages, while pre-paid mobile users will be limited to 10 a day.
There was no explanation for the move beyond saying it was "in the interest of the national security." In October last year all pre-paid phones were banned after reports that they were being used by militants, who have waged a 20-year fight against Indian rule and the thousands of security forces in the Himalayan region.
Held Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah termed the ban "harassment." "An officer sitting in the department of telecommunications or home ministry cannot decide what is right or what is wrong for the people of my state," Abdullah told the Press Trust of India news agency.
He said the state government was attempting to bridge the gap between the unpopular government in New Delhi and Kashmiris, and such moves as restricting SMSs were "dampeners." "This harassment needs to be put to an end once and for all," he said.
"The step proves beyond doubt that every Kashmiri is a suspect in the eyes of Indians," businessman Abdul Hamid told AFP in occupied Srinagar. Mobile phones were launched in held Kashmir only in 2003 after security agencies gave the go-ahead. The ban on pre-paid phones was revoked in January this year after protests.
The ban affected 3.8 million users in Kashmir. The sending of bulk SMSs through online portals was also banned under the new rules. Abdullah admitted the state government had asked for a ban on sending bulk SMSs, "which we believe is being used to spread rumours and gossip." "This request has not been understood properly," he said. Anti-India sentiments run deep in held Kashmir, where violence has registered a sharp decline since India and Pakistan started a peace process in 2004.
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