On the World Press Freedom Day, Kashmir Working Journalist Association (KWJA) has joined in calls from local and international journalist bodies for release of incarcerated Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan.
Aasif is currently detained at the Central Jail in Srinagar. A statement issued by KWJA, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, said that “Aasif’s continued incarceration reflects the stifled voice of the press freedom in Kashmir, where media has been cowed down by threats and intimidation by the state.”
“The state in Kashmir has been tightening its grip on the news narrative and reining in journalists from reporting objectively. The state has taken to several other recourses to cow down Kashmir’s media community into submission, in which it has largely succeeded. These include the summoning of journalists, pressures on news organisations, withdrawing of government advertisements. Journalists in Kashmir are living in fear of intimidation, arrests, and questioning by local police as well of the National Investigation Agency, badly limiting their activities,” the statement said. “KWJA condemns the repressive measures the state is resorting to, every now and then, to stifle the voices and working of journalists in Kashmir. It also renews its call for the unconditional release of Aasif Sultan,” the statement added.
