India Bans PrePay Phones in Kashmir

­India's Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that no pre-paid mobile connections should be issued and existing pre-paid SIM cards should not be renewed in Jammu & Kashmir from the beginning of next month.

The Ministry has asked the Department of Telecommunications to take appropriate action in the matter for implementation of the decision.

In a brief statement, the Ministry said that the step comes in the wake of the reports that proper verification is not being done while providing such pre-paid mobile connections by the service providers/vendors. In some cases, a single person had been issued with multiple number of connections. The fake documents/identity numbers are also reportedly being used by the vendors particularly, in the case of pre-paid connections.

The Ministry said that the situation had given rise to serious security concerns.

The Indian government routinely changes the rules about networks offering mobile coverage along the border with Pakistan, and services are restricted in the contested Kashmir region. Mobile phone coverage is forbidden along the demarcation line between the two countries.

Posted to the site on 30th October 2009