Waheed Para denounces social media surveillance, media gag in IIOJK
Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheedur Rehman Para has strongly condemned the occupation regime for the social media surveillance and media gag policies in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Waheed Para, in a post on social media platform X, said that the latest directives to monitor and restrict social media activity in the territory contradicted the spirit of the recently held elections, which were supposedly aimed at ending an era of fear and suffocation.
He said that the people hoped that the elections would restore dignity and the right to free expression, not to witness renewed control over their voices. “The election in Jammu and Kashmir was fought to end silence, fear, and suffocation. People didn’t vote for control; they voted for dignity and the right to speak without fear,” he wrote.
Para pointed out that such restrictive orders were being applied only in Jammu and Kashmir and not in any part of India, calling it a clear act of discrimination. “Yet today, fresh orders to monitor and restrict social media are being issued selectively only in Jammu and Kashmir, nowhere else in India,” he said.
Questioning the role of the Chief Minister, who also holds the Information portfolio, the PDP leader asked what her position was on the issue. “What is the Chief Minister’s stand on this? What does the CM, who also holds the Information portfolio, have to say?” he asked.
Waheed Para said that invoking “vigilance and monitoring” as a pretext to intimidate journalists and suppress public expression reflected a disturbing intent to control narratives and silence truth in the occupied territory. “Using ‘vigilance and monitoring’ as a pretext to intimidate journalists and police public expression exposes a deeply disturbing intent to control narratives, muzzle truth, and drag J&K further into surveillance,” he said. He maintained that Jammu and Kashmir deserved “openness, not oppression; transparency, not targeting.” The PDP leader emphasized that the recent elections were fought to restore public trust and dignity, not to replace one form of silence with another.
