Should pre-paid mobile ban be lifted in Kashmir?
More than two months after it banned pre-paid mobile connections in Jammu
and Kashmir citing security concerns, the government revoked the ban, but with stringent
terms for identity verification. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday welcomed
the move, saying it would bring relief to lakhs of customers.
The decision to lift the ban was taken late Wednesday after
several rounds of talks over the past one month between the home ministry, the
telecom ministry, the state government and mobile telephone service providers.
The issue was earlier even taken to the Supreme Court.
"Based on these discussions, the telecom ministry has laid
new guidelines for re-verification of existing subscribers and verification of
new subscribers for both pre-paid and post-paid SIM cards," said a telecom
ministry statement.
Mobile service providers have to "adhere scrupulously"
to the new guidelines, the statement said. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah
expressed his gratitude to union Home Minister P. Chidambaram for lifting the
ban, which had affected nearly 3.8 million subscribers in Jammu and kashmir.
In a statement in Jammu, the chief minster said revocation of
the ban "would go a long way in meeting the requirements of the vast
number of subscribers", and has come as relief to lakhs of subscribers and
the thousands of young people who are engaged in this activity.
Mobile service providers have to "adhere scrupulously"
to the new guidelines laid down by the telecom ministry.
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