Group SMS messages banned in Jammu and Kashmir

JAMMU - All group SMS messages in Jammu and Kashmir have been banned “in the interest of security” by the union home ministry from Friday midnight, official sources here said.

According to a communiqué to service providers, only one SMS can be sent at a time and that too within Jammu and Kashmir. No SMS can come from mobile phones outside of Jammu and Kashmir.

There will be no exchange of SMSs between the mobile subscribers in Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India, an official said.

Though the term “in the interest of security” has not been explained, the sources said the move was aimed at restricting bulk communication between separatists and militant outfits.

Jammu and Kashmir has nearly 3.5 million mobile subscribers.

The restriction comes a few months after the home ministry lifted the ban on prepaid mobile services in Jammu and Kashmir. The ban was imposed Nov 1 last year and lifted in January.

SMS messages had been were banned in 2008 as well during the Amarnath land row when it was felt that the circulation of SMS messages was inciting the people to take to streets.

The Amarnath land row protests started after the government first diverted a piece of 100 acres to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. The order was rescinded on July 1, 2008 after massive protests in the Kashmir Valley.

That cancellation triggered a counter-agitation in Jammu that lasted for more than two months. In mid-July that year, SMS services were banned and lifted only after the agitation was over on Aug 31.