NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court said on Friday that an indefinite shutdown of the Internet in Kashmir was illegal, rebuking the government for the communications lockdown imposed after it withdrew the Muslim majority region’s autonomy in August.
Indefinite suspension of the Internet violated India’s telecoms rules, the court said, ordering authorities to review all curbs in Kashmir in a week.
“Freedom of Internet access is a fundamental right,” Supreme Court Justice N. V. Ramana said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government has frequently used Internet shutdowns as a tool to quell dissent in troubled parts of the country.
Last month, authorities imposed an Internet clampdown in parts of the capital and in areas of the eastern state of Assam and Uttar Pradesh in the north as protests raged against a new citizenship law that Muslims see as discriminatory.
The shutdown in Kashmir, which has been on for more than 150 days, is the longest such outage in any democracy, according to digital rights group Access Now.
The government has argued that the blackout in Kashmir, a Himalayan region claimed by neighboring Pakistan and plagued by separatist militants, was essential to maintain calm.
The Supreme Court’s decision, which also asks authorities to make public all orders on Internet shutdowns, should enable more scrutiny of suspensions, Internet freedom activists said.
“This sheds light on the rationale behind Internet shutdowns which then can be challenged as being constitutional or proportionate or not,” said Nikhil Pahwa, digital rights activist and editor of MediaNama, a Delhi-based publication.
“So if the state is forced to be transparent, they will be more accountable.”
In 2019, India’s documented Internet blackouts lasted for more than 4,000 hours, costing Asia’s third-biggest economy $1.3 billion, according to a report by website Top10VPN.
An uneasy calm prevails in Kashmir. The Internet was restored in hospitals last week and some mobile phone connections are working.
The blackout has severely disrupted the lives of millions and had an impact on everything from college admissions to businesses filing tax returns.
“The court also said the freedom of the press is impacted by the shutdown,” said Vrinda Grover, an advocate representing petitioners, who include journalists and civil society members.
“It is an abuse of power.”
India’s top court says indefinite Kashmir Internet shutdown is illegal
https://arab.news/8s4sx
India’s top court says indefinite Kashmir Internet shutdown is illegal
- Freedom of Internet access is a fundamental right, judge said
- In 2019, India’s documented Internet blackouts lasted for more than 4,000 hours
No third meeting with Pakistan army chief on Trump’s calendar – White House official
- Reuters reported that Donald Trump was expected to hold a third meeting with Asim Munir in six months over a proposed Gaza force
- Pakistan’s top military commander has met Trump twice this year, including a White House luncheon without Pakistani civilian leaders
ISLAMABAD: A White House official said on Wednesday there was no meeting scheduled between US President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, after a Reuters report cited sources saying Munir is expected to travel to Washington in the coming weeks for talks that could focus on a proposed multinational force for post-war security and aid delivery in Gaza.
Trump’s Gaza plan, outlined as part of a 20-point framework, envisages the deployment of troops from Muslim-majority countries during a transitional stabilization phase, intended to support security and governance as the war-ravaged Palestinian territory moves toward reconstruction and a longer-term political settlement.
Reuters reported that Washington saw Pakistan as a potentially significant contributor given its battle-hardened military, which has fought a brief but intense conflict with India this year and continues to combat insurgencies in its remote regions, adding that the visit would mark Munir’s third meeting with Trump in six months.
“This is not on the President’s calendar at this time,” a White House official said on background, responding to an Arab News query about a possible Trump-Munir meeting.
Munir has met Trump twice in recent months. In June, he was invited to a White House luncheon, an unusual and unprecedented interaction in which a US president hosted a Pakistani military leader without the presence of civilian authorities.
A second meeting took place in October, when Trump hosted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and publicly thanked Munir – whom he described as his “favorite” field marshal – for Pakistan’s efforts toward peace in Gaza, alongside leaders of other Muslim nations.
Pakistan this week reiterated its position the situation in West Asia during an open debate at the UN Security Council, calling for a “time-bound and irreversible” political process anchored in relevant UN resolutions that would lead to the establishment of a sovereign, independent and contiguous Palestinian state.
Islamabad and Washington have meanwhile sought to repair ties after years of strained relations, with both sides working to boost bilateral trade and investment following what officials have described as a favorable tariff deal.
