Updated 26 May, 2012, 4:18 pm IST

Ban on Pre-paid Mobiles in Kashmir to Stay

05 Nov, 2009, 3:03 pm IST | by IANS |

No new prepaid mobile connections have been issued nor have existing ones been renewed since Nov 1 in Jammu and Kashmir following reports that militant groups were getting SIM cards on fake identities.

"The ministry of home affairs has decided that no prepaid mobile connections would be issued and existing prepaid SIM cards would not be renewed in Jammu and Kashmir after Nov 1, 2009," an official said.

The ministry has asked the Department of Telecommunications to take appropriate action to implement the decision.

The move comes after reports that militants were getting mobile SIM cards on fake documents, setting off alarm bells in the security and intelligence establishments of the insurgency-hit state.

"The step comes in the wake of the reports that proper verification is not being done while providing such prepaid mobile connections by the service providers and vendors. In some cases, a single person had been issued with multiple number of connections," the home ministry said.

"The fake documents and identity cards are also being used by the vendors particularly, in the case of prepaid connections. This situation has given rise to serious security concerns. Hence, the decision," the ministry said.

Intelligence agencies have been maintaining that private service providers were "overlooking security parameters to push their sales".

Police have arrested several people in many parts of the state including Doda, Kupwara and Srinagar after it was discovered that pre-paid connections were being used by militants. Cell phones, police said, were also used to trigger off blasts.

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah asked Home Minister P. Chidambaram to reconsider the continuation of the ban on prepaid mobile services in Jammu and Kashmir when Chidambaram concluded his day-long visit to the state Wednesday night, officials said.

According to official sources, Farooq raised the issue during an informal chat with Chidambaram Wednesday evening.

Farooq said the ban on prepaid services had created anger all across the state.

At a press conference here, the home minister said the ban would stay because of security reasons and that security could not be compromised.

Chidambaram shared with Farooq some of the reasons why the ban had been put into effect in Jammu and Kashmir.

The minister was clear that there were compelling reasons for the home ministry to implement this step, which he called a "considered decision".

He said that the "alarmist picture" by the media was not helping anyone.

On the issue of dialogue with separatists, Chidambaram made it clear that it would be with all sections of people in the state. "No one will be left out," he said.

Chidambaram's statement clearly implied that the government would not hold talks with the separatists only but with mainstream parties as well.

He told Congress workers that the mainstream view was important as parties like the Congress, National Conference and Peoples' Democratic Party had fought elections and had got substantial endorsement of their programmes from voters.