Srinagar November 05 (Vijay Kumar) – Indian Former home minister and Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has said that decisions like ban on mobile phone facility an assault on the dignity and self respect of the People of Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a public meeting at Handwara in Kupwara district today Mufti said shutting off pre paid mobile facility to the state reflects a mindset that his party is struggling to change. He said the arbitrary decision should be reversed immediately as it tarnishes our image and projects the entire people of the state as unworthy of trust and some kind of a security threat which only strengthens the stereotypes about them. "No wonder our youth, whether players, students or traders become victims of suspicion and highhandedness in different parts of the country when the government itself expresses doubts about our credentials as a people", he said.
Mufti said such profiling of Kashmiris has had disastrous consequences in the past as it resulted in the huge trust deficit between us and rest of the country. He said while the direct impact of the decision in terms of loss of employment opportunities was considerable, it was the psychological and political aspect of it which could claim a heavier toll. He said banning 38 lakh connections to prevent misuse by a possible few hundred people was an index of the lack of trust by the establishment in the citizens of the state as a whole and its belief that every thing is fair in Kashmir. "This" he said "is no way to win the battle of minds".
The PDP patron said decision to ban mobile facility is reflection of the same mindset that had resisted its extension to the state in the first place and contributed to the sense of siege prevailing here for decades. He recalled how the opponents of the mobile service had argued with him as chief minister that the facility could be used to detonate bombs on remote control, but had been proved wrong ultimately.
It may be mentioned here that Government of India ban on pre-paid mobile phone connections in Jammu and Kashmir from 1st November due to security reasons. The move affected 38 lakh pre-paid mobile phone subscribers in the state.No fresh pre-paid mobile connections issued and existing pre-paid SIM cards not renewed in the state from 1st November. The step comes in the wake of reports that proper verification is not being done while providing such pre-paid mobile connections by the service providers/vendors, sources said. 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.