‘Harassment of J&K journalists’: Mehbooba Mufti writes to PCI, asks it to send fact-finding team to verify claims

In her letter, Mufti said at least 23 Valley-based journalists have been put on the Exit Control List by the government while scholars studying outside India are also not allowed to travel abroad.

2 min readSrinagarUpdated: Sep 28, 2021 05:48 AM IST

PDP president and former CM Mehbooba Mufti

ALLEGING HARASSMENT of journalists in the Valley, former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has written a letter to Press Council of India (PCI), asking it to send an independent fact-finding team to Jammu and Kashmir.

“We have witnessed the manner in which fundamental rights such as freedom of speech & expression enshrined in the Indian Constitution have increasingly come under attack, especially in the last two years by a hostile and insecure dispensation,” Mufti wrote to the media watchdog.

“Unwarranted harassment of journalists has become a norm and this policy has been implemented by raiding their homes, summoning and interrogating them on frivolous grounds such as innocuous tweets; conducting background checks of journalists and their family members by CID, withdrawal of benefits including accommodation of some senior journalists, seizure of mobile phones, laptops, confiscating passports, ATM cards etc,” she wrote.

In her letter, Mufti said at least 23 Valley-based journalists have been put on the Exit Control List by the government while scholars studying outside India are also not allowed to travel abroad.

“One had hoped that the Press Council of India would take a suo motu note of these widely reported incidents but it seems that no established watchdog forum, including the courts, has taken any interest in the painful circumstances created in J&K, not to speak of any interventions,” she wrote. “It therefore becomes incumbent upon me to urge you to send a fact-finding team to J&K, to independently verify these claims and take remedial action.”

Bashaarat Masood

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. Expertise and Experience Two Decades of Frontline Reporting: Bashaarat has spent 20 years documenting the evolution of Kashmir, from high-intensity conflict and political shifts to socio-economic development. Award-Winning Investigative Journalism: He is a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award (2012). This honor was bestowed for his reporting on the Pathribal fake encounter, a series of stories that highlighted his ability to handle sensitive human rights and security issues with investigative rigor. Specialized Beats: His authoritative coverage spans: Political Transitions: Tracking the shift from statehood to Union Territory, electoral dynamics, and the pulse of local governance. Security & Conflict: Providing nuanced reporting on counter-insurgency, civil liberties, and the impact of the conflict on the civilian population. Development: Documenting the infrastructure, healthcare, and educational landscape within the Valley. Academic Background: He holds a Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Kashmir, providing him with a localized academic and professional foundation that is rare in regional reporting. ... Read More

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