The Indian government said on Saturday it would unlock most mobile phone lines in Kashmir in a major easing of a two-month security crackdown after the region’s autonomy was lifted, but a grenade blast in the main city underscored tensions in the new Delhi Action.

According to police, gunmen threw a grenade into a market area near the old town in Srinagar, wounding seven people.

Most shops, schools and businesses across Kashmir have been closed since the Hindu nationalist government placed the region under tighter Central control on August 5.

But the easing of the communications blockade was the latest attempt by the authorities to show that its tough policies are working.

Government spokesman Rohit Kansal told a news conference in Srinagar shortly before the grenade attack that authorities had decided to end the phone blockade after security checks in the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

All phones linked to the monthly subscription “will be restored and will be operational from Monday afternoon,” he said, adding that the measure would apply to all of Kashmir.

– Tourists welcome –

The new Delhi government has imposed a mobile phone and Internet blackout as part of a huge security crackdown to support its nullification of Kashmir’s constitutionally guaranteed autonomy.

Tens of thousands of additional troops were also sent in the operation, which critics say is virtually cut off from the outside world.

Kansal said restrictions on public movement had been lifted in” 99 percent ” of Kashmir, but gave no indication whether Internet services would also be restored.

The government, however, on Thursday lifted restrictions on tourist travel to the region and released three politicians from hundreds of people detained after August 5.

Kansal said all detainees will be gradually released after their cases are reviewed.

The leader of the opposition Congress party in the region, GA Mir, was skeptical of the government’s statement.

“We have heard for days that they will be restoring mobile phones. So if they actually do it on Monday, it’s just another one of their announcements, ” he told AFP.

He also questioned whether restrictions on tourists should be lifted in Kashmir, when authorities throughout the crackdown declared that ” life in Kashmir is normal.”

“The government claims that not a single bullet was fired. Then what was the panic situation that tourists were forced to leave in the first place? The world said.

Iltija Mufti, the daughter of former Kashmir chief Minister Mehboob mufti, one of the politicians in custody, says international pressure forced the government’s hand but the response was “very little, very late.”

India claims that most people in its part of the disputed region support the decision to take away the special status.

However, she has faced international calls to ease the crackdown, including from UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet.

According to activists and community leaders, the phone restrictions have caused widespread difficulties. This meant ambulances and other emergency services could not be called to take patients to hospitals.

Iltija Mufti said that without the Internet people cannot pay their mobile phone bills, “so what is the point of opening mobile lines? Will they get the service?

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947. Both countries have fought two wars over the territory, and cross-border clashes regularly break out.