Pulled up by the Home Ministry, the mobile phone companies are time and again asking their customers in Kashmir to submit identity documents and photographs for re-verification. The process in not going down well with people. S Ikhlaq Qadri reports.
“Aap ka mobile kisi bhi samay band ho sakta hai! Govt. dwara jaari ki gayi guidelines ke mutabik apne prepaid connection ko jaari rakhne ke liye apna naya form, sahi photo ID proof, valid address proof aur 4 photos kisi bhi company outlet par jama karvayein.”
This is the message flashing on the mobile phones of prepaid subscribers in Kashmir from the last one month. All the private mobile phone companies are intimating their customers to submit documents – Id proof, residence proof and four photographs, again.
The customers are angry over being asked to submit these documents again and again.
Ishfaq Ahmad, a government employee had taken a pre-paid mobile connection from Airtel four years ago after submitting requisite documents. In 2009 when the pre-paid mobile service was stopped in Kashmir, Ishfaq as per the government guidelines again submitted documents and got his number converted into a post-paid connection. After the resumption of pre-paid service, he re-converted it into pre-paid. After getting the service for about a year he is being asked to submit documents again.
“I continuously receive the messages and calls from the executive of the company asking me to submit the documents again,” says Ishfaq Ahmad. “I fail to understand by valid documents what they mean. I have only one SIM card in my name.”
Though Ishfaq submitted the documents at a company outlet, he is annoyed with the company.
“I don’t know how many times I have to prove my credibility,” said Ishfaq.
There are many more subscribers who call resubmitting of the documents an inconvenience.
Naseema Sidiqi was using an Airtel SIM card from last five years which was in the name of her nephew. When the government asked to submit documents again she submitted documents of her husband and changed the ownership.
After that her phone worked fine for about eight months. This year, during the summer unrest, the government issued new guidelines to mobile phone companies, making things worse for the subscribers.
Naseema again submitted the documents at a company outlet. Within one month the service was again stopped, compelling her to submit the documents again. The phone connection worked smoothly for some time.
On the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr she recharged her number with Rs. 300, but on Eid day the service was stopped. She says, “When I called my phone from another number, the reply was, ‘Number does not exist’.”
“This is unfortunate that service was withdrawn at the time when it was required most. If it had been festival of any other religion, they would have offered discounts and schemes,” said angry Naseema.
Since than she is regularly visiting the Airtel office but to no avail.
When contacted Airtel spokesperson, Anjali Bharti, said, “We do what we are asked to do.” and dropped the call.
Though most of the times companies inform subscribers to re-submit documents, there are cases where service is withdrawn without any intimation.
Mudassir Ali of Islamabad in south Kashmir is angry with the Aircel mobile phone company.
“After proper verification they provided me the SIM, then again asked me to submit documents, which I did. Now again my service has been stopped,” Mudassir told Kashmir Life.
The people, at large, are resenting this approach and consider this as unethical.
“We are being asked to prove identity time and again. We too have respect and honour,” said Ghulam Nabi Baba, a retired teacher.
The mobile phone services are summarily suspended whenever security agencies want to or issue new guidelines for verification of subscribers in Kashmir. In 2008 when the whole valley erupted in protests text messaging services were suspended, and in 2009 as the valley witnessed protests on Shopian incident the government suspended pre-paid services. The mobile services in north Kashmir were suspended for three months this year. During the 2010 summer unrest, the SMS service was stopped in Jammu and Kashmir, which has not been restarted.
“It is better for government to withdraw the entire service from Kashmir, why to do it in intervals,” said a university student, Mohsina.
