CASR calls raid on Kashmir Times “troubling escalation” against press freedom in IIOJK
New Delhi: The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), a collective of several rights-based organizations in India, has strongly condemned the recent raid by State Investigation Agency on the Kashmir Times office in Jammu and the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) against its Executive Editor, Anuradha Bhasin, a veteran journalist renowned for her independent and uncompromising reporting.
According Kashmir Media Service, CASR in a statement described the action against Bhasin as a “troubling escalation” and warned that such coercive measures reflect the broader pattern of intimidation faced by journalists in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The statement noted that these actions appear aimed at silencing critical and dissenting voices.
Bhasin has previously raised concerns about restrictions on press freedom in Kashmir. CASR recalled that her book, ‘A Dismantled State : The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370’, which examines media curbs and civil liberties in IIOJK, faced obstacles, including limitations on public events. The organisation said repeated scrutiny of her journalistic and literary work gives the impression of retaliatory action.
The statement placed the incident within the context of a “shrinking space” for journalism in Kashmir, citing incidents of searches, FIRs, equipment seizures, travel restrictions and arrests under dranonican laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA), National Security Act (NSA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The organisation demanded immediate end to coercive actions against journalists, protection of media professionals in occupied Jammu & Kashmir, the reversal of restrictions on publications and public events, and adherence to constitutional guarantees of free speech and press freedom. It also called for the release of journalists currently detained in IIOJK.
CASR appealed to rights groups, civil society organisations and journalists to speak out against these developments, describing the move as a direct attempt to curtail the functioning of Kashmir Times, one of the oldest newspapers in IIOJK.
The statement was endorsed by a wide range of organisations associated with CASR, including AIRSO, AISA, AISF, APCR, ASA, BASF, Bhim Army, CEM, CRPP, DTF, Fraternity Movement, IAPL, Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, NAPM, NTUI, People’s Watch, Rihai Manch, SFI, United Peace Alliance, WSS and others.
