India wants to ease the curfew in the Indian part of the disputed Kashmir region after Independence Day tomorrow. The telephone network and Internet access in the state of Jammu and Kashmir should continue to be blocked, as Governor Satya Pal Malik told the Times of India newspaper yesterday.
„We do not want to give these tools to the enemy until things calm down,“ he said in support. In a week or ten days in Kashmir „everything“ will be „good“ again, and the government will then also the communication links „gradually“ reopen, announced the governor.
The Indian government imposed the blockades in Kashmir on 4 August to stop expected protests. One day later, New Delhi canceled its constitutional special status with autonomy rights for the Himalayan region. Kashmir is also claimed by the neighboring country Pakistan, which is hostile to India.
