Editors Guild demands reversal of sealing of Kashmir Times office

Guild considered the action of the state administration against Kashmir Times as "vindictive and injurious"

The Editors Guild of India on Thursday described the sealing of Srinagar offices of Kashmir Times as "reprehensible and said it has "disturbing implications for the media of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh.

The Press Association, a body of Press Information Bureau accredited journalists, also condemned the "abrupt sealing" of the Srinagar office of Kashmir Times newspaper and demanded its immediate opening.

In a statement, the Guild said that newspapers and magazines in the undivided state of Jammu and Kashmir were already ravaged by conflict with editors and correspondents working against "difficult odds".

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It said that the Guild considers the action of the state administration against Kashmir Times as "vindictive and injurious not just" to Kashmir Times, but also to the entire free media in the region.

It also added that the newspaper editor Anuradha Bhasin and other staff have been denied access to records, computers, furniture, and equipment in the office.

"The Guild calls upon the government of Jammu and Kashmir to restore status quo, and to create circumstances in which media can function without hindrance and without fear," the statement said.

The Guild reminded that publications have "steadily lost" advertising over the last decade and the communication shutdowns, followed by the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown have totally stopped the trickle of revenue.

It said that the online editions are crippled by the slow internet speed imposed by the government. "The Kashmir Times, a 55-year-old publication, was forced to shut down its Srinagar edition in March," it said.

Instead of assisting the media, which was "most needed in these dark times", the Guild said the administration without any notice took control of the office of the newspaper, "putting its lock" on the door.

Demanding immediate opening of the Kashmir Times office to allow the journalists to carry on their professional duty, the Press Association said in a separate statement, "at the same time the state administration should bring the ''erring'' officials to book. Law of the land should take its own course and a renowned newspaper office should not be sealed in this way."

"According to Anuradha Bhasin, the executive editor of the newspaper, no notice was given for the sealing," it said.

The government was "targeting" her for speaking against the administration and moving the Supreme Court against media restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre abrogated the erstwhile state''s special status under Article 370 in August 2019, the statement quoted Bhasin as saying.