Islamabad: Journalists are working under challenging conditions in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, facing severe repercussions for reporting the truth and ground realities of the territory.
According to Kashmir Media Service, a report released on the occasion of International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists reveals that the BJP-led Indian government is using black laws and undemocratic tactics to suppress media in the occupied territory. The report highlights the detentions of prominent Kashmiri journalists such as Irfan Meraaj, Majid Hyderi, and Sajjad Gul under stringent laws. It notes that the victimization of journalists in IIOJK has intensified since August 5, 2019, following the revocation of the territory’s special constitutional status by the Indian government.
The report details that journalists in IIOJK frequently face killings, murder attempts, arrests, and threats from Indian forces’ personnel. Since 1989, numerous media personnel have been killed and scores injured in the region. It adds that independent journalism has become nearly impossible in IIOJK following the introduction of the media policy in 2020, which has led to harassment, abductions, threats, and torture of journalists conducting their work.
The report argues that the Indian government aims to conceal the ground realities from the world by criminalizing journalism in the region. It calls on the international community to take action to support independent media in the territory and pressure New Delhi to allow media outlets to operate without restrictions.
Since the BJP government assumed power in 2014, over 20 journalists have been arrested in IIOJK and India, including Aasif Sultan, Fahad Shah, Irfan Meraaj, Majid Hyderi, Sajjad Gul, Manan Dar, Qazi Shibli, Kamran Yousuf, Baltej Pannu, Santosh Yadav, Somaru Nag, Surinder Singh, Vinod Verma, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Siddique Kappan, Tanveer Warsi, Ashutosh Negi, Prabir Purkayastha, Rajeev Sharma, Mohammad Jamaludin, Wasim Akram Tyagi, and Zakir Ali Tyagi.