Blocked: Valley tabloid’s FB page that had Burhan Wani sketch
The weekly tabloid is published by the Greater Kashmir Communications Centre that runs Jammu and Kashmir’s largest circulated English daily, Greater Kashmir, as well as an Urdu daily and an Urdu weekly.
A picture of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani is held up during a rally condemning the violence in Kashmir, in Islamabad, Pakistan July 24, 2016. REUTERS/Caren Firouz
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Facebook has blocked the official page of Kashmir Ink, a tabloid, for posting a sketch of the late Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, which is the cover picture of the magazine’s current edition. The weekly tabloid is published by the Greater Kashmir Communications Centre that runs Jammu and Kashmir’s largest circulated English daily, Greater Kashmir, as well as an Urdu daily and an Urdu weekly.
“You are temporarily blocked from posting,” Greater Kashmir quoted the official Facebook message. “This temporary block will last for 24 hours.” Kashmir Ink had on Friday uploaded the cover picture of July 9 issue on its official Facebook page. The cover story, Kashmir – A year after Burhan’s death, had a sketch of Wani, who was shot dead by security forces last year on July 8.
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“This is an attack on the freedom of the press,” Majid Maqbool, executive editor of Kashmir Ink told The Indian Express. “The block is unjustified. The cover story assesses the ground situation in the Valley after one year of Burhan’s death…. How can anyone block a news publication?” he asked. Maqbool said the Facebook page was blocked on Saturday when Internet in Kashmir was cut on the first death anniversary of the militant. This is the first time a page of a news publication was blocked. “We removed the post below because it doesn’t follow Facebook Community Standards,” Maqbool quoted the Facebook message.
Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter. ... Read More
