Police raid Kashmir Times media office in Jammu: Reports

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir have raided an office of the Kashmir Times, local news outlets are reporting, fuelling concerns about a deepening crackdown on press freedom in the disputed territory.

The State Investigation Agency, a branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, carried out searches at the office in Jammu on Thursday, The Hindu newspaper and other outlets reported.

The police agency did not immediately release a statement on the raid, The Hindu said.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the incident, but some news outlets said authorities have accused the Kashmir Times of promoting activities against the state.

The Kashmir Times rejected that allegation, describing the raid on its office as “yet another attempt to silence us”.

“The bizarre allegations against us are baseless”, the news outlet said in a statement shared on its website on Thursday. &nbsp, “Criticising the government is not the same as being inimical to the state. In fact, it is the very opposite”, it said.

“A robust, questioning press is essential to a healthy democracy. Our work of holding power to account, investigating corruption, amplifying marginalised voices strengthens our nation. It does not weaken it”.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a global press freedom organisation, also raised concerns about the raid and called on police to return any documents or other property that was seized.

“The raid on the Kashmir Times office is deeply troubling and raises concerns about increasing pressure on media outlets in Jammu and Kashmir”, Kunal Majumder, CPJ’s Asia-Pacific programme coordinator, said in a statement.

“Authorities must clearly explain the legal basis for this action and ensure that any investigation is conducted with transparency and full respect for due process. News outlets should not face punitive action simply for doing their journalistic work”.

In 2019, India revoked the special status for Indian-administered Kashmir, which had given the area a degree of autonomy.

Additionally, the Indian government splits Kashmir into Jammu and Kashmir in the west and Ladakh in the east, which will be under the direct rule of New Delhi.

Kashmir’s population is overwhelmingly Muslim. India controls the southern and southern regions of the country, including the Kashmir Valley and its largest city, Srinagar, as well as Jammu and Ladakh, while Pakistan controls the northern and western regions, which are Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan.

Since the end of British colonial rule, India and Pakistan have engaged in territorial disputes over Kashmir. The partition resulted in the creation of Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India in 1947. Both nations continue to assert claims over Kashmir’s entire region.

According to CPJ’s Asia-Pacific Program Coordinator Kunal Majumder, “the raid on the Kashmir Times office is deeply troubling and raises concerns about growing pressure on Jammu and Kashmir media outlets.” Authorities must “ensure and clearly explain the legal basis for this action.”