India blocks social media in Kashmir

Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have ordered internet service providers to block popular social media services as New Delhi forces intensify a crackdown across the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

Local authorities said in a statement on Wednesday that the services should be blocked for one month or until further notice "in the interest of maintenance of public order."The statement added that the services were "being misused by anti-national and anti-social elements."

Authorities say pro-independence groups are using social media sites to rally support.Sources say several social networking websites including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp had been blocked across the disputed valley.

The blocking comes days after video footage circulated on social media showing a young Kashmiri man tied to the front of an Indian army jeep to deter protesters from throwing stones at the vehicle. The video caused outrage across the valley.

In another case, a video shared by Kashmiri pro-independence leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on his Twitter account showed Indian security forces brutally torturing a Kashmiri youth. Four Indian troops held down the youth with their boots and used sticks to beat him.

It is the first time authorities have taken such a step in the volatile Kashmir valley. They regularly block mobile internet signal.In July last year, local authorities briefly banned the publication of all newspapers across Kashmir and stopped internet services.

In October 2016, authorities banned the publication of English daily Kashmir Reader after accusing it of inciting violence in the region. Amnesty International in a statement at the time said the ban was a "setback to free speech" and called on authorities to revoke the order.

The Muslim-majority region has witnessed an increase in mass protests and violent attacks since early July 2016, when Burhan Wani, a top figure in a pro-independence group, was killed in a shootout with Indian troops.

More than 90 people have lost their lives and more than 12,000 have been injured in the ensuing crackdown.In the latest surge of violence in Kashmir, at least eight people were killed on April 9, when Indian paramilitary forces clashed with protesters during a by-election in the main city of Srinagar.

Pro-independence factions in Kashmir had called for a boycott of the vote, resulting in heightened security and low voter turnout when the polling began.In recent months, the use of pellet guns by Indian forces in Kashmir has drawn widespread criticism as the weapons have caused permanent disabilities among victims.

The government's crackdown has failed to halt the protests against the Indian rule in Kashmir.

The region has been divided between India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both since the two partitioned and gained independence from Britain in 1947. The two countries have fought three wars over the disputed territory.