The editors of newspapers in Kashmir on Tuesday said they would not resume publication until the state government “owns the ban” on the press. “The state government has resorted to propaganda blitzkrieg, insisting that there was no ban,” said Masood Hussain, editor of Kashmir Life, after a meeting of newspaper editors and owners here. “They (government) used all the available media to hit the credibility of newspapers, which have a history of not ceasing publication even when its members were killed.” WATCH VIDEO: Kashmir Protests Victim: 5-Year Old Zohra On How She Got Hit [related-post] The editors decided not to resume publication until the government admitted to banning the press in the Valley. “We have told Prof (Amitabh) Mattoo (political adviser to CM Mehbooba Mufti) that the government must own the ban and issue a statement guaranteeing that media operations are not being hampered,” Hussain said. On Monday, the state government had said there was no ban on newspapers and asked the editors to resume publication. WATCH VIDEO: Kashmir Protests: Visuals Of Curfew In the State The editors said that on Monday, Mattoo told them the “clampdown” was a “mistake”. “We have not heard anything from the government since then. It indicates that the government has not changed its press emergency,” Hussain said. The owners and editors of Valley-based newspapers will meet again on Wednesday to “review progress” on the issue.
