Kashmir: Dangerous Times for Media in the Valley

Two photojournalists were recently beaten and harassed by police while covering an encounter in a village in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Kamran Yousuf, photojournalist at Newsclick and another photojournalist Nisar Ul Haq, had gone together to cover the encounter. Reportedly, the SHO Awantipora, Mudasir Ahmed, along with other police officials intervened in their work without giving any reason or justification to them. The incident took place on June 14, the same day when veteran journalist Shujaat Bhukhari was assassinated by bike-borne men in 2018.

When the two journalists asked for a reason behind such intervention, they said they were beaten up, abused, thrashed, kicked and hit with the butt of the police personnel's guns. Their equipment, including cameras and tripods were seized and locked in a car.

When the two professionals pleaded for their cameras to be returned by repeatedly showing their ID cards, they were told that ‘they could call anyone and do anything, but their cameras wouldn’t be returned.’ Half an hour later, Mudasir beckoned Kamran and Nisar to come where he stood and asked them to have a cup of tea while saying, “You guys were not beaten but loved. We showed our love to you. Come and have tea with us now.” The journalists said they refused to have tea and asked for their camera, which the SHO returned with a ‘snobbish’ smirk on his face.

The video of the incident that shows the police officer snatching the cameras and asking other officials to lock the cameras in the car went viral on social media.

Speaking to Newsclick, DGP Dilbagh Singh, said, “What happened was wrong. Kanoon apne haath mein lena galat baat hai aur aesa nahi hona chahye tha.” When asked whether an enquiry has been initiated, he said, “I am in a meeting and will call you later.” And the call dropped.

Not the First Incident

This is not the first incident of a journalist being harassed and intimidated in their line of duty in Kashmir. The crackdown and suppressing of free media voices has happened in the past too. Journalists in Kashmir have paid a heavy price for trying to bring truth to the fore. Attacks on journalists have almost become a routine -- accepted and rarely questioned -- until something major happens.

The assassination of veteran journalist Shujaat Bhukhari was one of the major incidents that had brought to the fore the dangerous working environment for the media in Jammu and Kashmir.

In January 2019, four photojournalists were hit by pellets while covering a gunfight in Shopian district of South Kashmir. NewsClick had earlier reported that despite raising cameras and shouting ‘PRESS’, the photojournalists were shot at, leaving four of them injured and their equipment damaged. The injured journalists included – Waseem Andrabi, Nisar-ul-Haq, Junaid Gulzar and Mir Burhan.

When it comes to violence, the numbers are astonishing. Since 1990, when armed insurgency emerged, 19 journalists including Shujaat Bukhari, have been killed in the state.

List of Journalists attacked in last five years

Following is a list compiled by Free Press Kashmir, of assault on journalists thereby curbing the freedom of the press in last five years:

2014:

• Sheikh Inayat, correspondent for Times Now and Zahoor Ahmed Bhat, reporter for Shaharbeen Times were attacked by the members of Special Operations Group while covering a local party’s election meeting in Bandipora on April 19.
• Prominent photojournalist Javed Dar for Xinhua News and Farooq Javed Khan were attacked in Kulgam on April 24
• Same day, on April 24, Shabnam Fayaz of Munsif TV and Aadil Umar Shah of Voice TV were hospitalised after being beaten up by the police in their line of duty.  The journalists were covering protests in Pulwama.

2016:

• On July 16, authorities ordered halting of printing presses, confiscating printed papers due for delivery, and briefly detaining printing and delivery staff. Publications including Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir, Daily Kashmir Images, Kashmir Observer, and Kashmir Reader were affected.
• Mir Javed, reporter for Kashmir News Network was shot in the eye by a pellet gun in Kupwara on August 5.
• On August 8, a photojournalist, Muneeb Ul Islam working for Kashmir Reader and Daily Roshini was used as a human shield to protect themselves from the stone-pelters. He was beaten up by CRPF in Anantnag.
• On August 17, a female journalist Sumaiya Yousuf, working with Rising Kashmir, was beaten up, abused and harassed by an IPS officer.
• On August 29, Farooq Shah and Muntazeer Yaseen from Kashmir Observer were attacked by protestors in Srinagar and Pulwama, respectively.
• An order was issued on October 30, by the J&K authorities to suspend print publication of Kashmir Reader.

2017:

• On March 16, AFP photographer Tauseef Mustafa was manhandled by the police while he was covering a press conference.
• Two photojournalists, Eeshan Peer and Mohammad Younis, were reportedly attacked by J&K police.
• An intern reporter from Hyderabad, Idrees Bukhtiyar was detained and harassed by police for recording video for a Hyderabad-based TV news channel Munsif TV.
• On September 5, Kamran Yousuf, a freelance photojournalist was arrested on suspicion of stone-pelting (initially) and jailed.

  2018:

• On June 14, Shujaat Bukhari was assassinated outside his office by bike-borne men.
• On December 14, Free Press Kashmir was banned from publishing on Facebook
• Earlier, news related Facebook pages like Wande Magazine and Lost Kashmir History were taken down for “violating community standards.”

        2019:

• On June 23, four photojournalists suffered injury as armed forces fired pellets at them.
• In February 2019, central government restricted advertisements to all the English Newspapers from Kashmir. Government advertisements were restricted for Greater Kashmir on February 16.

Also Read: https://www.newsclick.in/illegal-censorship-kashmir-media

KWJA Condemns Assault on Photojournalists

Following the incident, Kashmir Working Journalists Association (KWJA) issued a press release condemning the police assault on photojournalists in Pulwama. The release said, “The harassment of journalists has become a routine in Kashmir and KWJA reiterates that international journalism and right bodies should take cognizance of these incidents, express solidarity and raise voice on all international platforms.”

KWJA urged the Press Council of India to “take cognizance of these repeated incidents of harassment and J&K Governor’s administration should immediately take action against the accused police officials, otherwise it seems to be a planned attempt to threaten and coerce  journalist community in Kashmir.” Kashmir Press Club (KPC) equivocally condemned the incident.

When NewsClick contacted SHO Mudasir, he denied any such happening. “I have no knowledge of this. Nothing like this has happened. I don’t know why press releases are issued in my name but to be honest, I have no knowledge of this.”

Photojournalist Association’s president and senior photojournalist, Farooq Khan said, “the photojournalist association condemns this incident where two journalists were harassed. We have also called for an enquiry into the incident. Photojournalists risk their lives to work in Kashmir. They are not concerned about anything but their duty. And to harass someone like this in their line of duty is highly condemnable.”

It is widely believed that ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party has assumed power at the Centre and has solely relied on a military approach in Kashmir, such incidents have been on the rise. Ironically, in the past three years, India has dropped seven places to rank 140 on the Reporters without Borders World Press Freedom index.