Journalist body protests media 'clampdown' in Kashmir Valley

Calling it an "attack" on the freedom of the press, Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has protested the alleged "clampdown" on the media in the Kashmir Valley and demanded that it must be allowed to function unhindered.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, IJU President S N Sinha, its Secretary-General Amar Devulapalli, International Federation of Journalists Vice-President Sabina Inderjit and Press Council of India (PCI) members K Amarnath and Prabhat Dash, said that prohibiting publication of newspapers and confiscation of printed copies was "illegal" and "unconstitutional", as the Supreme Court had ruled that prevention of printing and distribution of newspapers "amounted to pre-censorship".

Local newspapers failed to hit the stands for the second consecutive day on Sunday in curfew-bound Kashmir. No dailies — English, Urdu and Kashmiri — were available as the newspaper owners decided not to publish them after authorities on Saturday allegedly raided some media houses and seized their printed copies.

"The J&K Police action in name of volatile situation in the Valley is an attack on the freedom of the media and unacceptable in a democracy. The IJU demands that the police should desist from such illegal and unconstitutional actions immediately and allow the press to function unhindered," the IJU statement said.

The IJU has already written to the Chairman of PCI, Justice (retd) C K Prasad, to take suo motu cognisance of the "illegal action" of the state police and initiate suitable action to protect the freedom of the press.