SRINAGAR: The government in Indian-administered Kashmir said landline telephone service has been restored a month into a near-total communications blackout and security lockdown while India’s Hindu nationalist-led government downgraded the Muslim-majority region’s autonomy.
On Thursday, people lined up at offices or homes that have landline telephones to try to contact family and friends after the long wait, but many were unable to get through after repeated attempts.
“Our landlines have been restored but we are still unable to talk to people. It is frustrating. I have been trying to call people since morning, but I am not getting through,” said Syed Musahid, in Srinagar, the main city in the Indian portion of the divided region.
Many Kashmiris living outside the region also said they were having trouble getting in touch with their families inside Kashmir.
“I kept trying a hundred times to reach my family in Kashmir, and only then did my call go through,” said Bint-e-Ali, a Kashmiri in the Indian city of Bengaluru.
She said she still hasn’t been able to talk to her ailing grandmother in Srinagar. “I hope I live to tell this horrendous tale to our next generation about how India didn’t even let us talk to our family and friends,” she said.
The government says it suspended communications Aug. 5 to prevent rumors from spreading after Kashmir’s special status in the Indian Constitution was revoked and the state of Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to two federal districts. The suspension has almost completely isolated Kashmir’s residents.
Srinagar resident Firdous Ahmad said the restoration of landline service “definitely brings a sigh of relief” but he also he hoped cellphone and Internet data services, which are more widely used, would be restored soon.
The Press Trust of India reported restrictions had been lifted on daytime movements in the Kashmir Valley. However, checkpoints remain in place.
Protests over India’s moves have occurred sporadically in Kashmir and were quelled by security forces who fired pellets and tear gas.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirely. The nuclear rivals have fought two wars over its control.
India has tried to suppress frequent uprisings against its rule, including an armed rebellion that started in 1989. About 70,000 people have been killed since that uprising and in the subsequent Indian military crackdown.
Landline phones back in Kashmir, but calls don’t go through
https://arab.news/2apsk
Landline phones back in Kashmir, but calls don’t go through
- People line up at places with landlines to contact family and friends after a long wait
- Kashmiris living outside the region say having trouble getting in touch with families in Kashmir
Pakistan positions itself as ‘bridge builder’ to ease Middle East tensions as PM visits Saudi Arabia
Pakistan positions itself as ‘bridge builder’ to ease Middle East tensions as PM visits Saudi Arabia
- Islamabad says it is engaging regional capitals to keep diplomatic channels open amid Iran conflict
- Foreign Office says Pakistan policy on Afghanistan unchanged amid cross-border militant attacks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is positioning itself as a bridge builder to help ease rising tensions in the Middle East, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif traveling to Saudi Arabia for talks focused on regional peace and security, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.
Sharif left earlier in the day for what officials described as a brief visit to the Kingdom at a time when the region is facing heightened volatility after the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran. Subsequently, Tehran said it was targeting American military bases in Gulf states, prompting condemnations from these countries, which said several strikes had hit civilian infrastructure.
The spillover of the conflict in the region has complicated diplomatic efforts aimed at calming the situation, but the Foreign Office spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, said Pakistan had been in regular contact with capitals across the region since the crisis erupted and is trying to keep channels of communication open.
“And we are playing the role of a bridge builder in a sense that our principal position on issues with respect to sovereignty, international law and the UN Charter and with respect to dialogue and diplomacy is respected in all regional capitals,” Andrabi said during the weekly press briefing.
He said Prime Minister Sharif’s visit to Riyadh should be seen as part of ongoing coordination between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on regional stability.
“The Prime Minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia is part of the coordination between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on matters of regional peace and security and ending violence and hostilities,” he said.
“The Prime Minister’s visit should also be seen in the broader context of Pakistan’s efforts to advocate and facilitate an early cessation of hostilities and violence in the region, with the aim of paving the way for dialogue and diplomacy.”
Islamabad has condemned both the strikes on Iran and the retaliatory attacks launched from Iranian territory against Gulf states, urging all sides to show restraint and resolve their differences through diplomatic means.
“As you know, Pakistan had condemned the unwarranted attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Andrabi said, warning that such actions risk further destabilizing an already tense region. At the same time, he added, Pakistan had also condemned attacks carried out from Iran against Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, calling them violations of sovereignty.
He said Pakistan has remained diplomatically engaged since the crisis began. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has spoken with his counterparts from several countries in the region to discuss the evolving situation.
The prime minister also held a telephone conversation on Wednesday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, during which the two leaders discussed regional developments.
Andrabi said Pakistan’s position was firmly rooted in international law and the principle that disputes should be resolved through dialogue.
PAK-AFGHAN CLASHES
Separately, the Foreign Office said Pakistan’s policy toward Afghanistan remains unchanged despite continued tensions over cross-border militant attacks.
“There is no qualitative change in our relations, in our way of how we engage with Afghanistan,” Andrabi said.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan authorities of harboring militant groups and facilitating their cross-border attacks, an allegation denied by Kabul.
The two countries have witnessed fierce border clashes amid mounting tensions, with Pakistan saying it has targeted militant hideouts inside Afghanistan.
“We have emphatically communicated to the Afghan side and to our interlocutors that we need verifiable assurances from the Afghan side that their territory will not be used for terrorism against Pakistan,” Andrabi said.
“Since those assurances have not been received, we will continue with our existing policy with respect to that country.”
He said Pakistan reserved the right to respond to attacks originating from Afghan territory.
“We are under attack ... and in exercise of our right to self-defense, we do reserve the right to respond to these attacks.”
