STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Journalistic fraternity of Jammu on Tuesday expressed deep anguish and concern over threats being hurled to Srinagar based media persons by terrorists and called for stern action against the perpetrators and their sympathizers.
Expressing their solidarity with the scribes, photo and video journalists working across the Valley, who are fulfilling their professional obligations in most challenging situations, the senior journalists said that they have already lost few of their prominent colleagues in the past three decades in the turbulent Valley and cannot remain mute spectators to their plight.
Five scribes quit amid terror threats in Kashmir
SRINAGAR: Fresh terrorist threats against journalists has further silenced the beleaguered media in Kashmir. At least five journalists working with a local newspaper in Srinagar have resigned after a propaganda arm of terrorists put out a list of over a dozen journalists, accusing them of being informers of security forces.
Police say The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, is behind the threats. A First Information Report, or FIR, under anti-terrorist law UAPA has been registered and investigations have been launched, NDTV reported on Tuesday.
“The content of the post clearly depicts the intention of terrorists and anti-national elements. They have put the life of people, especially media persons, in danger by publicly calling them corrupt and giving direct threat to their lives. In this regard, an FIR stands registered,” a police officer said.
Quoting official sources, the agency reported that around a dozen suspects have been rounded up by the police and are being questioned for their alleged links with TRF. “We have rounded up suspects for being over ground workers (OGWs) of TRF. The detentions are not exactly linked to threats against media houses,” said an officer. Three reporters have published resignations on their social media pages to avoid any trouble, as terrorists have threatened to target anyone working for three media houses in Srinagar. A young reporter who was covering the civic beat says he has been accused of propagating the army narrative. He chose to leave his job.
“I have been reporting about civic issues, water, drains, and transport. I have never reported anything on army or covered any army function so far. Yet they have branded me as an Army informer,” the reporter said.
In Kashmir, journalists have often been under threat. Shujat Bukhari, Editor of Rising Kashmir, who was killed in June 2018 by terrorists, is part of over a dozen Kashmiri journalists who were killed for their work.
BJP says such threats are unacceptable and no one should be allowed to target journalists. “Terrorists have touched new lows, which is against people and against the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression,” RS Pathania, spokesman of the BJP, said.
They urged adequate security for the media persons and sought an enabling situation for them to discharge their onerous duties in a free and fearless atmosphere. The terror spreaders have already caused deep scars on the Kashmir psyche by muzzling the sane voice and targeting the members of the fourth estate now is all time low since the onset of alien gun culture. They hoped the Kashmir society to rise against terror machinations, saying this is the time for the people to unite and fight terrorism with all their might.
“Browbeating or intimidating the saner voices are not acceptable in civilized society”, the Jammu Journalists said while describing the development as black day for the media corps, adding that they were with their Kashmir based fraternity at this hour of challenging situation.
They also hoped the administration to realize the gravity of the situation and work against terror ecosystem that has already taken high toll of the Kashmir society.
