[Reader-list] Pakistan bans Internet in border areas

[Harsh Kapoor]

The Nation (Pakistan)
11 January 2002

Internet in border areas banned
By Munawar Hasan
LAHORE-Pakistan has banned internet access in certain areas including 
border belt with neighbouring India as a security measure in the wake 
of war threats emanating from India, it is reliably learnt here on 
Thursday.
As a result of unannounced ban on internet access, subscribers of 
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have not been able to connect the 
ISPs through telephone lines. "Every time I try to connect to ISP, 
the message 'the line is busy, please try again later' emerged," said 
an internet subscriber. 
"We lodged many a complaints with our respective ISPs but no 
sufficient answers were being provided in order to resolve the 
problem," said a net user. Due to the ban, internet cafes situated in 
the border area, including Batapur, have been closed. Similarly, the 
use of prepaid calling cards for international dialing have also been 
banned in the border areas.
Pakistan's long-standing differences with India escalated last month 
after India blamed an attack on the Indian parliament by the Kashmiri 
separatist groups, allegedly backed by Pakistan. A military build-up 
has been accompanied by travel bans and sanctions unilaterally 
imposed by India.
Meanwhile, an official of a leading ISP told The Nation that many of 
its customers were facing problems in connecting Universal Internet 
Number (UIN) from their located exchanges, to the exchange of the 
ISP. He said that the telephone exchanges of Mominpura, Garden Town, 
Baghbanpura, Mustafa Town and Kahna Nau were the most affected areas 
where hundreds of web-surfers are unable to use this facility.
When contacted, highly placed officials of Pakistan Telecommunication 
Company Ltd (PTCL) did not confirm or negate the development. They 
said: "We are looking into the matter".
It may be noted that India already shut down local Internet access in 
the Kashmir and was policing Internet cafes in an effort to check 
communications. 
The ban was instituted on December 18. The clampdown also extended to 
intelligence agencies patrolling Internet cafes for Kashmiri Muslims 
communicating outside India. India has also imposed a ban on long 
distance calls from Kashmir for an indefinite period.