Internet services will be partly restored in Indian Kashmir from Saturday

Internet services will be partly restored in Indian Kashmir from Saturday, ending a five-and-a half-month government-imposed blackout in the troubled region, but social media will stay offline, local authorities said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government imposed a communications blackout in early August when it stripped the portion of Kashmir it controls – the country’s only Muslim-majority region – of its partial autonomy.

India also imposed a curfew, sent in tens of thousands of extra troops and detained dozens of Kashmiri political leaders and others, many of whom remain in detention, drawing criticism abroad.

Internet access will be restored later Saturday but only to 301 government-approved websites that include international news publications and platforms such as Netflix and Amazon.