Srinagar/ Chandigarh: In wake of ongoing agitation in Kashmir, the services of newspapers and cable tv has reportedly been suspended in the Kashmir valley by the government. As per media reports [f]or the first time in the last over six years, Government of Jammu and Kashmir has allegedly ordered suspension of all newspapers in Kashmir valley as Police conducted midnight raids on printing presses of two leading dailies and seized copies and plates with the ‘warning’ that no newspapers be printed till clearance from the higher authorities.
“Authorities on Saturday banned newspaper publication in Kashmir for three days after police raided media houses and shut down a major printing press in what is being seen as the most sweeping information blackout in the valley”, notes the Hindustan Times (HT).
“Editors of the two leading English language dailies Greater Kashmir and Rising Kashmir, namely Fayaz Ahmad Kaloo and Shujaat Bukhari, said that Police parties from Humhama Police Division of Budgam District Police raided their printing presses respectively at Rangreth and Humhama after last midnight. The Police contingent seized all the bundles of GK’s sister publication ‘Kashmir Uzma’, a daily in Urdu, besides plates of GK. Four employees, including manager of the press, were taken away, detained for several hours without questioning and let off in the morning on Saturday”, notes a report by State Times (ST).
Newspaper owners and journalists on Saturday staged a protest against the gag imposed in the Valley | Courtesy – Photo: Muzamil Mattoo; Source: Kashmir Reader
Mr. Bukhari said that when the Police party reached his press, the newspaper had been printed and sent to a distributor in Srinagar. Police took away the employees to Civil Lines area, seized the bundles and subsequently dumped them at Humhama Police Division, the ST report adds.
Editors of two more English language dailies, Kashmir Reader and Kashmir Observer, said that bundles of their newspapers were snatched away by Police from the hawkers and distributors and seized.
Editors and working journalists held sit-in protest against the government action against the newspapers at press enclave and called it “press emergency”.
Holding placards, newspaper owners and editors vowed that they would “fight it out”. They attempted to talk to different Government functionaries, including DGP and Director Information but none of them responded to the telephone calls. Subsequently, they called Cabinet’s spokesperson and Minister of Education Naeem Akhtar who told them that the Police action had been decided by the Government. Asked if the editors could continue printing their newspapers, Mr Akhtar advised them not to publish any newspapers till July 19. However, nobody in the Government either responded to calls or issued a statement on the Police action against the newspapers.
In North Kashmir there was complete information and communication blockade as no phone or internet services operated. In Central and South Kashmir, only BSNL mobile phone services, landline and Internet through Broadband operated on Saturday.