In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, political leaders and journalists bodies have strongly condemned the authorities for taking over the Kashmir Press Club.
The IIOJK authorities on Monday cancelled the registration of the Kashmir Press Club and handed over the building to the Estates Department.
Peoples Democratic Party President, Mehbooba Mufti, in a tweet, said that the crisis in the Kashmir Press Club seemed to be orchestrated in order to shut down the institution which had served as a medium for journalists to debate and discuss issues freely.
Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) Sec-retary, Ghulam Nabi Malik, strongly criticized the authorities for the unwarranted action. “The press/media in Jammu and Kashmir is already work-ing under immense stress and strain. Professional journalists strongly feel that it has become impossi-ble for them to do normal reportage. Journalists have to be encouraged to perform their task without being under duress,” he said.
The General Secretary of the ousted managing body of the Kashmir Press Club, Ishfaq Tantray, in a statement said that by this action, the authorities wanted to stifle the voice of journalists that reso-nated through the KPC, the only democratic and independent journalist body in the Valley. He reiter-ated that the Kashmiri journalists will confront these challenges.
Shopian Working Journalists’ Association in a statement deplored the authorities’ decision to can-cel the allotment of the premises to the KPC. It termed the move as authoritarian and another at-tempt to stifle the voice of journalists.
Meanwhile, the Indian Journalists Union in a statement condemning the authorities’ move said the KPC has been vocal on media issues. It main-tained that sustained harassment and intimidation of journalists in the Kashmir Valley smack of vendetta and brazen attempt to silence dissenting voices.
The Editors Guild of India in a statement said it is deeply anguished by the shutting down of the Kashmir Press Club by authorities. “With the shut-ting down of the Club and government reverting the land back to the Estates Department, an important journalistic institution in a region that has seen the worst kind state heavy handedness against any inde-pendent media, has been effectively dismantled,” it said.—KMS
