Srinagar: The Government of Jammu and Kashmir snapped the mobile internet (2G, 3G and 4G) services in Kashmir fearing law and order problems, especially after the killing of top Hizb ul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat in Tral encounter on Saturday.
It has not even been 24 hours since the social media sites and applications including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter were restored in Kashmir Valley.
A fresh surge of anti-Indian protests have hit the Valley today, after successor of dead Hizb ul Mujahideen (HM) commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with forces in the Tral region of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.
Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was killed with a teenage militant, Faizan Ahmad, in an encounter in Saimoo Village. Faizan joined Hizb in March this year after snatching a rifle from a forces personnel that day.
The government on April 17 blocked access to 22 websites and applications, including Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter, as well as 3G and 4G data services in the restive part of the northern state.
The ban came in the wake of reports that these social networking sites were being “misused by anti-national and anti-social elements to create law and order disturbances” in Kashmir.
The ban had evoked widespread condemnation within the state and beyond.
On May 11, United Nations experts had even urged the Government of India to withdraw the ban on Internet services in Jammu and Kashmir and “reinstate” freedom of expression.
