Jammu, Jan 8 The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday extended the ban on high-speed 4G internet services in all the districts except Ganderbal and Udhampur till January 22.
An order issued by the home department said, "Certain restrictions have been placed on access to high-speed mobile data connectivity to curb uploading/downloading/circulation of provocative videos and defeat the nefarious designs of the forces within and from across the border to create a narrative by running a disinformation campaign.
"The apprehensions of the law enforcement agencies regarding misuse of high-speed mobile data services for infiltration and for coordinating (militant) activities gets credence from investigation of ongoing cases and recent incident of interception of (militants) and recoveries of arms/ammunition, with increased activity on the IB/LoC.
"Now, therefore, on consideration of the overall security scenario and the reports of the law enforcement agencies inter-alia bringing out the necessity for continuation of speed related restrictions on mobile data services to prevent misuse of social media as also taking note of the (militant) activities during the last fortnight, I, Principal Secretary to the Government, Home Department, being satisfied that it is absolutely necessary so to do, in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the Security of the State and for maintaining public order, hereby order that the directions/restrictions contained in Government Order No. 143(TSTS) of 2020 dated 25.12.2020 shall continue to remain operative till 22nd January, 2021, unless modified earlier."
The order further said that the IGPs of Kashmir and Jammu shall communicate these directions to the service providers forthwith and ensure their implementation in letter and spirit.
Internet services in J&K were suspended ahead of the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. Low-speed 2G internet was, however, restored in a phased manner but high-speed services continue to remain suspended.
( With inputs from IANS )
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