The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to place on record before it all the orders relating to restriction, detention of activists and other orders under which communication was blocked in the Kashmir Valley.
The apex court order came a day after the police detained women activists including the sister and daughter of former chief minister Farooq Abdullah during a march in Srinagar. They were protesting the withdrawal of special status to Jammu and Kashmir and splitting it into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti along with some other Kashmiri leaders have been in detention since August.
The Centre, in phases, has been easing curbs put in place in J&K since the August 5 decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution. Two days ago, mobile phone services for post-paid subscribers resumed in Kashmir after 72 days but without any internet facilities. However, by about 5 pm that day, SMS services were stopped as a “precautionary measure”. Over 25 lakh prepaid mobile phones and other internet services, including WhatsApp, remain deactivated for now, officials said.
Governor Satya Pal Malik said on Monday that internet services would be resumed very soon, but officials in the security establishment maintained the process might take up to two months. A decision on pre-paid subscribers could be taken next month, they said.
Earlier this month, the J&K administration opened the Kashmir for tourists, more than two months after it canceled the Amarnath Yatra and issued an advisory asking pilgrims and tourists to leave the Valley due to “terror threat”. The Abdullahs were allowed to meet party delegations in Srinagar on October 6.
The administration has also opened up schools and institutions of higher education and decided to hold Block Development Council elections on October 24, the first electoral process in Jammu and Kashmir since August 5.
–India Legal Bureau