The move followed an upsurge in violence in the region, where authorities say social media are being used to mobilise stone-throwing protesters behind increasingly frequent civilian attacks on government forces. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the predominantly held Kashmir valley.
One senior police officer said the power of social media to mobilise large groups of civilians was "worrying the security forces much more than the armed militants". "Social media is misused to mobilise youth during anti-militant operations," said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Kashmiri groups have been fighting Indian occupied forces in held Kashmir for decades. But the violent civilian protests, which often mobilise around the anti-militant operations conducted by government forces, are a relatively new phenomenon. The local government already frequently blocks mobile internet services in the volatile held Kashmir valley, but it is the first time they have banned specific social media services in the interests of public order. The held Kashmir valley has been tense since April 9, when eight people were killed by police and paramilitaries during election day violence.
Since then, students angered by a police attempt to detain suspected protest ringleaders on college grounds have held regular demonstrations, frequently clashing with police. Held Kashmir's tech-savvy young - 70 percent of the population is under 35 - have increasingly turned to social media to express their anger as well as to mobilise demonstrations."If they (the government) take away our means of communication and protest we will keep finding new ones," said Asim, a university student who gave only his first name."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017