Mehbooba Mufti bans J&K daily that focused on ‘atrocities’
Kashmir Daily banned in Srinagar
Mehbooba Mufti bans J&K daily that focused on ‘atrocities’:- The CM of Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti has banned the Srinagar-based English daily Kashmir Reader, fueling the fears that it might launch a full-scale media clampdown to crush dissent.
Kashmir Reader, is known for its anti-establishment positions and has been at the forefront of highlighting the atrocities that are alleged by the security forces during the three-month-old unrest.
The district magistrate of Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad Lone has issued this order last evening while asking the newspaper to further stop its publication immediately, calling it to a threat to “public tranquillity.”
“I, District Magistrate Srinagar, do hereby direct the printer, publisher and owner of daily Kashmir Reader to abstain from printing and publishing of the newspaper. Till further orders so that disturbance of public tranquillity is prevented,” the order read.
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Kashmir Daily rubbishes these allegations
It had also claimed that the newspaper contained “material and content, which further tends to incite acts of violence and disturb the public peace and tranquillity”.
Hilal Ahmad Mir, the editor of this daily, said: “We are just unable to understand how we could be a threat to the valley’s peace. The order has not made any further mention of specific content that can disturb the peace.”
Mir has also mentioned that the Valley’s journalists now feared that the government would ban some other publications too.
The government had raided several other printing presses in the Valley and have also seized newspapers, prompting the dailies to suspend their publication for a few days.
A ban on Internet use of the pre-paid mobile phones has further remained in force since the unrest started in the month of July.
Lone’s order has invoked Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Section 3 of the Newspapers Incitement of Offences Act of 1971 and also Section 10 of the Press and Publication Act of 1989.
“It has become expedient in the interest of prevention of this anticipated breach of the public tranquillity to forthwith take all the necessary precautionary measures,” it said.
