Srinagar: Mobile and broadband internet services of all cellular companies, including Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), were this evening suspended for security reasons in Kashmir valley.
The services were suspended as a precautionary measure after the killing of Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Abu Ismail and another militant in a brief encounter with security forces in the city outskirts this evening.
The authorities have directed all cellular companies to suspend mobile internet services in the valley to prevent spread of any rumour on social media. But, suspension of the facility has led to spreading of more rumours.
The authorities have also asked broadband service providers, including state-run BSNL, to suspend the internet services till further orders. The services have been suspended in the valley many times in the last six months due to security reasons.
The mobile internet services for post-paid connections was suspended for about five months last year following violence triggered by the death of HM commander Burhan Wani on July 8 last year. Similarly, mobile internet services for prepaid connections were restored in Kashmir on January 27, six months after they were suspended.
Meanwhile, the telecast of news on local cable channels in the Valley remained banned since 2010, when there were massive protest during which more than 120 people, mostly youths, were killed in security force and police firing in the Valley. The authorities had also directed bureaucrats and other officers not to participate in any political debate on local cable channels.
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