Indo-Pakistani Border Conflict Costs Nokia a Shop

Activists of the youth wing of the Indian nationalist party BJP attacked a Nokia shop in the central Jabalpur city in Madhya Pradesh state, India. The attack was provoked by the inclusion of the controversial Kashmiri valley as part of neighbouring Pakistan, in a Nokia mapping software.

A video clip captured by Reuters shows activists setting phones alight, and destroying the shop's banners, amid fruitless efforts from a small police contingent to stop them. The news agency reported that the phones were stolen from the shop, which is seen as closed in the video.

"This software is developed by Nokia. This is the problem of Nokia and we are not concerned with it as we are merely shop owners, not the client of the company. But, the manner in which the mob entered and started torching the shop is bad," said Rafiq Khan, the shop owner.

Nokia's mapping data is supplied by NAVTEQ, a mapping-software company which was bought by the Finnish-giant in July 2008. The software, Nokia Maps, covers over 200 countries, and provides navigation in 70, including India, but not Pakistan.

The Kashmiri area is governed by China, India, and Pakistan. Neither India or Pakistan recognize each other's territory, which has resulted in the 1947 and 1965 Indo-Pakistani War. The United Nations currently holds the line of division, which concedes approximately one-third to Pakistan, and one-half to India. Unofficial conflicts such as terrorist attacks and mysterious abductions continue from the two parties.

[via Cellular-News, Reuters]