NEW YORK, : The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent watchdog body, has condemned authorities in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir for closing the Srinagar office of The Kashmir Times (KT), a leading English daily and one of the oldest newspapers in the disputed state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a tweet, CPJ, which is based in New York, called on the authorities to stop trying to silence \u201cindependent and critical voices\u201d, after the paper\u2019s premises were shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe condemn the ongoing targeting and harassment of @AnuradhaBhasin_ (the newspaper\u2019s editor) and The Kashmir Times. Authorities must stop trying to silence independent and critical voices and should respect press freedom,\u201d CPJ said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In her tweet, Anuradha Bhasin, editor of The Kashmir Times, said that the authorities sealed the newspaper\u2019s office without giving any prior notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday, Estates Deptt locked our office without any due process of cancellation & eviction, same way as I was evicted from a flat in Jammu, where my belongings including valuables were handed over to \u2018new allottee\u2019!,\u201d Ms. Bhasin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVendetta for speaking out! No due process followed. How peevish!,\u201d she added.
The KT\u2019s closure followed a similar incident on Saturday when the Indian authorities sealed the office of a leading news agency of the region, the Kashmir News Service (KNS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The action against media offices and journalists is part of the broader crackdown that followed India\u2019s illegal move to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year when all Kashmiri political leaders were arrested, 13,000 Kashmiri youth detained, many of them tortured, young boys summarily executed, protests violently put down, including by using blinding pellet guns, and imposing collective punishments\u2013 demolishing and burning entire neighbourhoods and villages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW YORK, : The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent watchdog body, has condemned authorities in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir for closing the Srinagar office of The Kashmir Times (KT), a leading English daily and one of the oldest newspapers in the disputed […]<\/p>\n
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