The Pakistan government claims India has shut down local Internet access in the troubled region of Kashmir and is policing Internet cafes in an effort to restrict communications between Pakistan and Kashmir.

Pakistan's long-standing feud with neighbor India has escalated in the past month after India blamed an attack on the Indian parliament on Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatist groups. A military build-up has been accompanied by travel bans and sanctions. Kashmir has long been a focus of hostilities, with Islamic militants fighting Indian rule since independence from Britain in 1947. Indian authorities in its section of Kashmir have withdrawn Internet services, according to a Pakistan government news service. The government claimed the ban was instituted on Dec.18, and is meant to prevent Muslims in Indian-held Kashmir from contacting people in Pakistan. The government news service also claimed Kashmir-based cable TV operators have been ordered to cancel any Pakistan TV programming.