SRINAGAR: The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has justified the ban on mobile internet services and has hinted at extending it for some more time.
“There have been restriction assessments in Kashmir. If not restricted, then the protest following the execution would have become the cause of concern.
We continue maintaining the situation in Kashmir valley. All the mobile (internet) services are restricted temporarily,” Abdullah told a newspaper on Thursday.
“Main reason to restrict the mobile services is they are the only source to spread rumours.”
Curfew was imposed in all ten districts of the valley on Saturday following the execution of Afzal Guru in Delhi’s Tihar jail on Saturday. Mobile internet was barred and Indian news channels on cable network were blocked.
The curfew was eased in many parts of the valley since Wednesday and the news channels were restored.
But the ban on mobile internet continues.
On Afzal Guru’s execution, Abdullah reiterated that he had “serious reservations” about it, but added that nothing could be done now.
“I just expressed my reservations. There is no point in what I want or what I don’t want. I can’t change this execution now. Kashmiris have been looked in symbols. New generation of Kashmir will identify Afzal Guru. How can I tell people not to identify him?
We had a difficult week to deal with anything after this execution. Before dying, Afzal Guru said that his death should not be the reason for violence,” he said.
