Journalists in India-occupied Kashmir asked to sign pledge vowing to keep peace

Published
0
In this file photo from September 2019, a security personnel stands guard to block a road near closed shops while strict restrictions are imposed during a lockdown in Srinagar. — AFP/File
In this file photo from September 2019, a security personnel stands guard to block a road near closed shops while strict restrictions are imposed during a lockdown in Srinagar. — AFP/File

Police in India-occupied Kashmir asked at least three journalists working in the region to sign a pledge vowing not to “disturb peace” in the region, two of them told Reuters on Wednesday.

A third journalist, an assistant editor with the Indian Express newspaper, was summoned to a police station in Srinagar, the capital of the federal territory, but did not sign the pledge, the newspaper said in a report published on Wednesday.

India has imposed several restrictions in the region after revoking its constitutional autonomy in 2019, laying out rules for how the region is covered and reported.

A spokesperson for Srinagar police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The Indian Express, one of India’s most respected dailies, said its journalist was summoned four times between January 15 and 19 and asked to sign the pledge on January 16.

“He has not signed the bond as asked by the police. The Indian Express is committed to doing what is necessary to uphold and protect the rights and dignity of its journalists,” the paper’s chief editor, Raj Kamal Jha, said in the report.

Two other journalists Reuters spoke to said they had also been summoned, but one of them was travelling and the other did not go to the police station. They declined to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

The journalists and The Indian Express said the summons were issued after they reported that police in the region were seeking information from mosques about their funding, management and budgets.

The Press Club of Kashmir, an association of journalists in the region said in a statement dated Tuesday that several of its members had been either summoned or advised by police to stop covering stories on profiling of religious institutions.

“Using police powers to summon journalists over their legitimate reporting is part of a pattern of intimidation against the media in Jammu and Kashmir,” Kunal Majumder, coordinator for the CPJ Asia-Pacific Programme, a non-profit that works for press freedom, said.

Opinion

Editorial

Opposition moves
Updated 11 Nov, 2026

Opposition moves

Expectations of the maulana leading another street confrontation with the government anytime soon are likely to remain wishful thinking.
CT battle
11 Nov, 2026

CT battle

IN order to stem the tide of terrorism, it is necessary to ensure that no spaces are left for violent elements to...
Water management
11 Nov, 2026

Water management

THE Sindh chief minister, while reflecting on Karachi’s water woes, recently observed that water supply is only part...
Restructuring plans
Updated 10 Nov, 2026

Restructuring plans

It would be a much wiser move, politically speaking, to take up any debate on administrative restructuring again after the next general election.
Extreme heat
Updated 10 Nov, 2026

Extreme heat

Climate adaptation is yet to find a place in our agricultural policies.
Israel power struggle
10 Nov, 2026

Israel power struggle

A POWER struggle is emerging after last month’s elections in Israel resulted in no party securing the requisite...