Ban lifted on social media sites in Indian-held Kashmir

SRINAGAR - The Jammu and Kashmir government has lifted a ban on 22 social networking sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter after a month.

The Indian government had imposed the ban on April 26 in a bid to control the rumours spreading through social media in the Valley. “It (ban) has not been extended,” Principal Secretary, Home, R K Goyal told Greater Kashmir on Friday.

According to the reports, the Home Department had taken the action alleging that these social networking sites were being “misused by anti-national and anti-social elements to create law and order disturbances” in Kashmir.

The ban on social networking sites was criticised by global institutions including the United Nations. On May 11, the United Nations experts had asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to lift the ban on social media sites.