- Kashmiri media forced to follow official narrative to avoid bankruptcy
ISLAMABAD: The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has said that the government-control through advertisement revenue is prevalent in occupied Kashmir and the media is being pressurised to toe the official line if it wants to avoid financial insecurity.
In a report titled “Kashmir’s Media in Peril: A situation report” released in Brussels, the IFJ said that the information flow in the region is controlled by the government and security forces.
The report also mentioned the other challenges faced by journalists, such as “out-of-bounds areas, telephone and Internet shutdowns, and lack of proper system for getting the official version of incidents from police or security agencies.
Expounding on the problems faced by the journalists in the region, the IFJ said that two Kashmiri journalists, Mir Javed and Zuhaib Maqbool, were victims of the pellet guns [used by Indian forces to quell protests] and became blinded in 2016, while Kamran Yousuf was detained without any charges by the National Investigation Agency.
About the draconian laws, the IFJ said that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act which gives sweeping powers to the military personnel, and public security laws like the Public Safety Act 1978 of Kashmir, which allows detention without trial of persons, including journalists, for acting in any manner prejudicial to security of state or maintenance of public order are broad in scope and allow restrictions to be placed on the media.
It said that the spike in unrest in 2010 following a ‘fake encounter’ in which three civilians were reportedly killed by the army and public protests following the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani had created further problems for the journalists of the valley.
The report noted: “Journalists have had to survive by treading a tricky middle path, carrying out balanced reporting in a conflict situation in which they and their families live.” The IFJ maintained that due to the territorial dispute, Kashmir had been in the throes of intense militarisation and arbitrary use of draconian laws since the 1990s.
