Islamabad
The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League, Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, has strongly condemned the booking and questioning of a photojournalist Masarrat Zahra and registration of FIRs against two other journalists, Ashiq Peerzada and Gowhar Geelani under the stringent and draconian laws by Indian police.
Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in a statement issued in Islamabad said, the move is aimed at further muzzling the press and bring the media men to knees in the strangulated disputed territory.
He said that press and publications in occupied Kashmir were never free from the police intervention but in the post 5 August situation, the Delhi regime had assumed worst shape in terms of the repressive governance and the authorities had magnified their role to muzzle the press and curb human rights and political voice in the territory.
“Already there were examples of the forced disappearances or even the killings of some reporters in the past few decades. Therefore, the concern about the three booked correspondents among the press community was very real and the regime’s unbridled police authorities could harm the targeted media men in any way,” he said.
He said the press men in Srinagar were alarmed about the life and honour of a female photojournalist and other two correspondents.
He appealed to the world press organisations as well as Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch and the UN Human Rights Council to keep watch on the latest conditions in occupied Kashmir and stop the authorities from taking any action against the booked journalists.
In occupied Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders and organizations have strongly condemned the booking of noted Kashmiri journalists, Gowhar Geelani, Peerzada Ashiq and Masarrat Zahra, under serious charges for their posts on social media and news stories related to the Indian atrocities in the territory.
Senior APHC leader and Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Anjuman Sharie Shian, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi in a statement issued in Srinagar deplored that efforts were being made to demolish journalism, the fourth pillar of democracy, in occupied Kashmir.
He said that journalists in the territory were being prevented from carrying out their professional duties in a free manner. He demanded immediate withdrawal of cases against Gowhar Geelani, Peerzada Ashiq and Masarrat Zahra.
APHC leader and the Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Political Movement, Khawaja Firdous, in a statement issued in Srinagar denounced in strong terms the filing of cases against the journalists.
He said that the Kashmiri journalists were trying to convey the voice of Kashmiris to the world to some extent through their pen and camera, even in such a difficult situation when India had imposed strict lockdown and ban on Internet in the occupied territory. He appealed to the international community to take steps to protect the journalists in occupied Kashmir and impress upon India to allow them to carry on their work without any fear and intimidation.
APHC leader and the Chairperson of Muslim Khawateen Markaz, Yasmeen Raja, in her statement termed the filing of FIRs against the Kashmiri journalists as an attack on the freedom of press and a violation of human rights.
She said that the Kashmiri people including media persons had been facing harassment and atrocities at the hands of Indian troops for the past over seven decades.—INP
