Srinagar
In occupied Kashmir, Indian police harassed two Kashmiri journalists, stopped them from carrying out their professional duties and snatched their cameras and mobile phones.
The two video journalists, Qayoom Khan and Qisar Mir, who were working for CNN-News 18 and TV9 Bharatvarsh were stopped by Indian police on March 4 in Pulwama. Their camera and two mobile phones were also taken away by the police.
The two were stopped by a police officer in front of the SSP Pulwama at 15:30 hours on March 4 while they were on duty covering a raid by NIA at Hakripora Pulwama. According to written testimony that Qisar Mir submitted to the Kashmir Press Club, their phones were also snatched by the police officer.
“We were covering a raid [by NIA] at Hakripora Pulwama where police stopped [us] to cover [the] story… ,” Mir said, and added that several journalists were being harassed and abused while reporting in South Kashmir.
Mir also said that he had been stopped at Babgund Pulwama and thrashed by the army personnel on February 29 during a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) and had also been used as a “human shield” by soldiers.
The Kashmir Press Club in a statement condemned the harassment of the journalists by the police.The Press Club noted that it had engaged with police authorities at the highest level to convey its concerns about harassment of journalists by the police since Article 370 had been scrapped. The Club also urged the police to sensitise its officers and allow journalists to work without any obstacles.
In February, the Kashmir Press Club had expressed concerns over instances of journalists in Kashmir being intimidated by the Police and asked the authorities to stop the practice of summoning journalists and muzzling free speech.—KMS
