Claiming that large numbers of militants were waiting to infiltrate from across the border, the J&K administration today extended the ban on high-speed internet services in Jammu and Kashmir excluding two districts. The next review would be on January 8, 2021.
Even as there were speculations about restoration of 4G internet, the Home Department’s Principal Secretary Shaleen Kabra stated in an order: “The successful conduct of Panchayat elections has not gone down well with the elements inimical to public peace and tranquility which is evident from multiple incidents of hurling of grenades by the militants targeting civilian and security personnel since the conclusion of the election process.”
“Credible inputs have been received about the presence of a large number of militants who are trying to infiltrate from across the border as was evident from multiple instances of heavy firing and shelling on the International Border as well as on Line of Control (LoC) to facilitate their infiltration,” the order said. All communication including telephones and internet were blocked in J&K by the government on August 5, 2019, when the region was stripped of its special Constitutional position by the Union Government. Later telephones and low-speed 2G internet were restored in phases.