Indian police condemn BBC for article on press freedom in Kashmir | News

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir threaten to provoke authorized motion in opposition to the British broadcaster for reporting on media crackdown in disputed area.

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir have “strongly objected” to an article printed by the BBC on press freedom within the Muslim-majority area and have threatened to take authorized motion for “unfairly castigating” its work.

The report by the British broadcaster, headlined “Any story may very well be your final” – India’s crackdown on Kashmir press, was printed on Friday and highlights the case of a number of Kashmiri journalists incarcerated on “terrorism” expenses, underneath which bail is tough to get. The report additionally paperwork the day-to-day harassment and intimidation different journalists have confronted from safety forces.

“The article unfairly castigates efforts of J&Ok Police in sustaining regulation and order and safety in J&Ok as biased in opposition to journalists,” the Jammu and Kashmir Police mentioned in a submit on X, previously generally known as Twitter.

The police “condemned” the try by the BBC to misrepresent the scenario on the bottom, including that it maintains “the best requirements of professionalism”.

Rebuttal

J&Ok Police strongly objects to an article printed by the BBC on 1 September 2023, “Any story may very well be your final – India’s crackdown on Kashmir Press” by Yogita Limaye. The article unfairly castigates efforts of J&Ok Police in sustaining regulation and order and safety in…

— J&Ok Police (@JmuKmrPolice) September 2, 2023

The yearlong investigation by the BBC was printed simply weeks after an impartial Kashmiri information outlet, The Kashmir Walla, mentioned Indian authorities had blocked entry to its web site.

Quite a few Kashmiri journalists have been arrested, questioned and investigated in relation to their work since India’s Hindu nationalist authorities scrapped the area’s semi-autonomous standing in 2019 as a part of its efforts to combine the disputed territory into the remainder of the nation.

Anti-India sentiment runs excessive within the Himalayan area, which has seen a bloody rise up because the late Nineteen Eighties. The rebels both need Kashmir to be impartial or merged into neighbouring Pakistan.

India has accused Pakistan of backing the rebels, a cost Islamabad has denied.

New Delhi says its unprecedented motion in 2019 was aimed toward rooting out “terrorism” from the territory, which is claimed by each India and Pakistan. Every of the 2 arch-foes administer elements of it. They’ve fought two of their three wars over the area since gaining independence from the British in 1947.

‘Sinister marketing campaign’

The BBC mentioned its reporter spoke to greater than two dozen Kashmir journalists for the article. They included editors and reporters working for impartial and nationwide media organisations.

“The BBC has spent greater than a 12 months investigating accusations in opposition to the Indian authorities that it’s working a sinister and systematic marketing campaign to intimidate and silence the press within the area,” the broadcaster mentioned.

“We needed to meet journalists in secret, they usually requested for his or her names to be hidden, fearing reprisals.”

All of these interviewed mentioned the federal government’s arbitrary arrests of media personalities was to ship all journalists a “warning”.

One of many instances highlighted by the UK outlet was that of Aasif Sultan, who labored as an assistant editor for a Srinagar-based English journal.

Sultan has been in jail since August 2018 underneath the Illegal Actions (Prevention) Act or UAPA, and is accused of “harbouring recognized militants”, an allegation he denies.

He has additionally been charged with homicide, try and homicide and different crimes.

The case of Fahad Shah – founding editor of The Kashmir Walla, who was arrested by Indian police underneath an “anti-terror” regulation final 12 months in February – can be detailed within the report.

He was accused of “glorifying terrorism” and “spreading pretend information”. Of their submit on X, the Kashmir police defended Shah’s arrest.

“It’s pertinent to say that one of many instances talked about, … that of Fahad Shah, is one the place a trial is already ongoing … and the courtroom has already framed expenses in opposition to him underneath the UAPA for offering terror sympathisers a platform for advocating terrorism,” the police mentioned.

This 12 months, the media watchdog Committee to Defend Journalists mentioned 62 journalists have been killed in India in reference to their work since 1992.

Indian-administered Kashmir witnessed extra web shutdowns than some other nation on the planet final 12 months, in response to Surfshark, a digital personal community supplier.

India has slipped within the press freedom index since Prime Minister Narendra Modi got here to energy in 2014. It ranks at 161 in a listing of 180 international locations.