New Delhi, Oct.30 Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday said that pre-paid cell-phone connections would be banned in Jammu and Kashmir for security reasons.

The Home Ministry has decided not to issue fresh pre-paid mobile connections in Kashmir and as per this policy, the existing pre-paid SIM cards would not be renewed in the State after November 1.

"I have no problem if there are pre-paid connections in rest of India but there is a security situation; we think that pre-paid connections are prone to be misused," Chidambaram told reporters in national capital New Delhi.

Chidambaram, during his visit to the state earlier this month had hinted about such a step by the Central Government. (ANI)