As the protests in Kashmir triggered by the killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani entered the second week and another youth died in police firing on Saturday taking the total death toll to 41, the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition government launched a clampdown on media in Kashmir, where curfew has been imposed, by seizing newspapers and banning publication till at least July 20. “They asked us to stop and took away the newspapers that we had already printed”.
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Police also seized copies of Kashmir Reader in a raid at its printing facilities. Although, newspapers are nowhere available in the city which has been under a curfew for eight consecutive days, the online edition of Greater Kashmir has reported that three employees were arrested by the police from their printing press. “We were not handed over any order under which the printing and circulation of our newspapers were stopped”, Mukhdoomi said.
In this situation, the government spokesman told Srinagar-based editors that the “movement of newspaper staff and distribution of newspapers will not be possible”. “How will you reach out to the people now?” he asked.
Rashid Makhdoomi, the printer and publisher of Srinagar’s leading newspaper chain Greater Kashmir Communications, said that a police party from Humhama Police Station raided its press office at Rangreth here at 2 am and confiscated all the 50,000 copies of Urdu daily Kashmir Uzma which had just been printed.
Cellphone and internet services are still suspended in large parts of the Kashmir. Holding placards, the media personnel rued the choking of media and attack on press freedom.
Editor of Srinagar Times, an Urdu daily published from Srinagar, said, “This is undemocratic”.
KT press is one of the major printing presses in the Valley and prints dailies like Kashmir Reader, Tameel-e-Irshad, Kashmir Times, Kashmir Observer, The Kashmir Monitor, Kashmir Observer, Brighter Kashmir and Kashmir Age.
Cable TV was snapped on Friday evening.
The Pakistan government “came under pressure” to support slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and to celebrate him as a “martyr”, former Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar has said.
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The only mobile service functional in the valley is Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and the only internet connectivity is the BSNL broadband service.
