Chairman JKSM condemns Indian siege of Kashmir Press Club in IIOJK

Pays tributes to the martyrs of Gaw Kadal massacre

MUZAFFARABAD:

Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement (JKSM) Altaf Ahmad Bhat on Saturday condemned the coup of the Indian occupation forces on Kashmir Press Club (KPS) in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Press freedom in Kashmir continues to remain under attack. Over the weekend, the largest journalists’ body, the Kashmir Press Club Srinagar, was taken over by a set of journalists who were accompanied by the Indian Army, after the premises were shut down by the occupant administration.

Srinagar Press Club had 300 members. With it being made defunct, the occupant Indian government's approach is quite evident that it would not allow any institution which doesn't toe the official line or is in sync with the political ideology of the ruling party.

The only platform which raised the voice against frequent harassment of journalists has been shut, de-registered and dispossessed.

Chairman Bhat said that the incident was yet another attempt to throttle press freedom.

Read More: CPJ condemns arrest of journalist in IIOJK

He also prayed and paid glorious tributes to the martyrs of the Gaw Kadal massacre wherein the Indian troops had killed more than 50 innocent people by resorting to indiscriminate firing on peaceful demonstrators in the Gaw Kadal area of Srinagar on January 21 in 1990.

The demonstrators were protesting against the molestation of several women by troops, the previous night.

Chairman Bhat also paid tribute to Kashmiri people who were being targeted killed in IIOJK at the hands of Indian occupational forces but never surrendered and never bent.

In the month of December 2021, Indian occupational forces martyred 31 Kashmiri people among 10 in custody while 94 civilians were arrested.

“It is an eye-opener for the developed world how India is crushing dissent, humanity and breaking all International and humanitarian norms in IIOJK. Kashmir is the issue of humanity, Hence collectively International organizations, scholars and NGOs must raise the voice of voiceless and besieged Kashmiris in the world,” the chairman said.