Daily Times

Indian troops martyred a young Kashmiri journalist Rayees Ahmad Bhat along with a youth during a cordon and search operation in Rainawari area of the Srinagar city on Wednesday (today).

According to a report released by Kashmir Media Service, occupied Kashmir is one of the most dangerous places of the world where people associated with the press and media are performing their professional duties in the most difficult circumstances and situation.

It said 20 journalists have been confirmed as being killed while performing their duties during the Kashmiris’ ongoing liberation struggle since 1989.

They include Shabbir Ahmed Dar, Mushtaq Ali, Muhammad Shaban Wakeel, a woman scribe Aasiya Jeelani, Ghulam Muhammad Lone, Ghulam Rasool Azad, Pervez Muhammad Sultan, Shujaat Bukhari, Ali Muhammad Mahajan, Syed Ghulam Nabi, Altaf Ahmed Fakhtoo, Saidan Shafi, Tariq Ahmed, Abdul Majid Butt and Javed Ahmed Mir.

The report said in the occupied territory, almost routinely, the journalists face manhandling, abductions, murder attempts and death threats by the Indian troops and all this has made their everyday work extremely difficult.

It pointed out that the Kashmiri journalists and many other scribes while performing their professional duties in the territory are roughed up, threatened, assaulted, summoned and detained by the Indian police, agencies and troops on fake charges.

Several journalists including Aasif Sultan, Fahad Shah, Sajad Gul and Aqib Farooq Butt are facing illegal detention under draconian laws and remain lodged in different jails of IIOJK and India.

The report said India is using different intimidating tactics to harass the journalists in IIOJK and victimization of media persons increased manifold since August 05, 2019 when Narendra Modi-led fascist Indian government repealed the special status of the territory. “Fascist Modi’s regime is using strong-arm-tactics to stifle media in IIOJK. Kashmiri journalists are abducted, threatened and tortured just for doing their job,” it said.

The report maintained that India is targeting the Kashmiris journalists to hide ground realities of IIOJK from the world but would never succeed in its nefarious designs.