<p class="title">Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday condemned the killing of Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari in Srinagar and termed it an "act of cowardice".</p>.<p class="bodytext">The veteran journalist and his PSO were shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside the newspaper's office in Press Enclave near Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Expressing shock at the journalist's death, the home minister tweeted, "The killing of @RisingKashmir editor, Shujaat Bukhari is an act of cowardice. It is an attempt to silence the saner voices of Kashmir. He was a courageous and fearless journalist."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Extremely shocked & pained at his death. My thoughts and prayers are with his bereaved family," he said on Twitter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Congress president Rahul Gandhi too expressed grief over the death of the journalist and said Bukhari was fearlessly fighting for peace in Jammu and Kashmir.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I'm anguished to hear about the killing of Shujaat Bukhari, editor of @RisingKashmir. He was a brave heart who fought fearlessly for justice and peace in Jammu & Kashmir. My condolences to his family. He will be missed (sic)," Gandhi said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav also termed the senior journalist's killing a cowardly act by the terrorists.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In a tweet, he said, "Shocked to hear about d attack on d Editor-in-Chief of Rising Kashmir Shujaat Bukhari in Srinagar. Reprehensible n condemnable cowardly act of d terrorists (sic)"</p>.<p class="bodytext">Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah said, "Shocked beyond words. May Shujaat find a place in Jannat & May his loved ones find strength at this difficult time."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Abdullah also posted a screenshot of his last conversation with Bukhari on Twitter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted, "Deeply saddened to learn about the dastardly killing of @RisingKashmir editor #ShujaatBukhari. Such an attempt to suppress the sane voices by terrorists will never succeed."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore called Bukhari's killing an attack on the freedom of the press.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Assassination of #ShujaatBukhari is a brutal attack on freedom of the press. A cowardly and deplorable act of terror. Our fearless media is one of the greatest strength of our democracy and we are committed to provide a safe and conducive working environment to media persons," he said on Twitter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Editors Guild of India tweeted, "The Editors Guild of India unequivocally condemns the assassination of Rising Kashmir Editor Shujaat Bukhari. This is a grave attack on press freedom and democratic voices. We will be issuing a more detailed statement soon." </p>
<p class="title">Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday condemned the killing of Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari in Srinagar and termed it an "act of cowardice".</p>.<p class="bodytext">The veteran journalist and his PSO were shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside the newspaper's office in Press Enclave near Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Expressing shock at the journalist's death, the home minister tweeted, "The killing of @RisingKashmir editor, Shujaat Bukhari is an act of cowardice. It is an attempt to silence the saner voices of Kashmir. He was a courageous and fearless journalist."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Extremely shocked & pained at his death. My thoughts and prayers are with his bereaved family," he said on Twitter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Congress president Rahul Gandhi too expressed grief over the death of the journalist and said Bukhari was fearlessly fighting for peace in Jammu and Kashmir.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I'm anguished to hear about the killing of Shujaat Bukhari, editor of @RisingKashmir. He was a brave heart who fought fearlessly for justice and peace in Jammu & Kashmir. My condolences to his family. He will be missed (sic)," Gandhi said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav also termed the senior journalist's killing a cowardly act by the terrorists.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In a tweet, he said, "Shocked to hear about d attack on d Editor-in-Chief of Rising Kashmir Shujaat Bukhari in Srinagar. Reprehensible n condemnable cowardly act of d terrorists (sic)"</p>.<p class="bodytext">Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah said, "Shocked beyond words. May Shujaat find a place in Jannat & May his loved ones find strength at this difficult time."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Abdullah also posted a screenshot of his last conversation with Bukhari on Twitter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted, "Deeply saddened to learn about the dastardly killing of @RisingKashmir editor #ShujaatBukhari. Such an attempt to suppress the sane voices by terrorists will never succeed."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore called Bukhari's killing an attack on the freedom of the press.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Assassination of #ShujaatBukhari is a brutal attack on freedom of the press. A cowardly and deplorable act of terror. Our fearless media is one of the greatest strength of our democracy and we are committed to provide a safe and conducive working environment to media persons," he said on Twitter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Editors Guild of India tweeted, "The Editors Guild of India unequivocally condemns the assassination of Rising Kashmir Editor Shujaat Bukhari. This is a grave attack on press freedom and democratic voices. We will be issuing a more detailed statement soon." </p>