Cellphone curbs in Valley may be relaxed in phases

The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration is considering lifting the mobile telephony blackout in the state in phases, and may reactivate voice calls on post-paid connections soon, according to two senior government officials who asked not to be named.

The move will be discussed in a meeting on Saturday, when officials are also likely to take a decision on the release of some political leaders. Around 800 people, mostly political activists, are under detention and mobile connections have been disabled over fears of violence since the night of August 4 — hours before the Union government stripped J&K of its special constitutional status.

Security agencies have conveyed that the restoration of mobile phones in a phased manner will not affect the law-and-order situation. “In addition, the government can shut down the network if need be,” one of the officials cited above said. A second official elaborated on the possibility: “Post-paid mobile connections are likely to be restored first, followed by pre-paid connections.”

The clampdown on internet services, including mobile data, will remain, the officials said. They added that the curbs will not be lifted for now in sensitive areas spread across 10 police station zones.

Jammu & Kashmir has about 600,000 mobile phones connections. In the second week of September, mobile connectivity was restored in Jammu but was subsequently withdrawn because of alleged rumour-mongering. Mobile phones of officials critical to maintaining law-and-order have been functioning since then.

On Thursday, the administration allowed three mid-level political leaders to be released.