JAMMU — The Jammu and Kashmir police’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Thursday carried out searches at the head office of Kashmir Times in Jammu which outlet’s owners have termed as an attempt to stifle the independent media.
Senior editors of the Kashmir Times, Prabodh Jamwal and Anuradha Bhasin said the accusations levelled against them were “designed to intimidate, to delegitimise and ultimately to silence”.
Mr. Jamwal and Ms. Bhasin in a joint statement said, “We will not be silenced. We are being targeted precisely because we continue to do our work. In an era when critical voices are increasingly scarce, we remain one of the few independent outlets willing to speak truth to power.”
The Kashmir Times issued the statement in the wake of ongoing searches of the Jammu office of the newspaper since Thursday (November 20) morning. Initial reports suggested that a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against the editors of the organisation. The J&K Police has not issued any statement on the searches, as reported by The Hindu.
The editors further said the reported raids on the office, the baseless accusations of activities “inimical to the state”, and the coordinated crackdown on the Kashmir Times are “yet another attempt to silence us”.
The statement said criticising the government was not the same as being ‘inimical to the state’. “In fact, it is the very opposite. A robust, questioning press is essential to a healthy democracy. Our work of holding power to account, investigating corruption, amplifying marginalised voices strengthens our nation. It does not weaken it,” it added.
“Since 1954, the Kashmir Times, whose founding editor was Ved Bhasin, has stood as a pillar of independent journalism. We have chronicled the region’s triumphs and failures with equal rigour. We have given voice to communities that would otherwise go unheard. We have asked difficult questions when others remained silent,” the statement said.
The editors of the newspaper called upon the authorities “to immediately cease this harassment, withdraw these unfounded allegations, and respect the constitutional guarantees of press freedom”.
“We call on our colleagues in the media to stand with us. We call on civil society, on citizens who value their right to know, to recognise that this moment is a test of whether journalism can survive in an environment of increasing authoritarianism,” it said.
Journalism is not a crime. Accountability is not treason. And we will continue to inform, investigate, and advocate for those who depend on us, the statement said.
“The state may have the power to raid our offices. But it cannot raid our commitment to the truth,” it added.
The newspaper’s print edition was suspended in 2021-2022 after relentless targeting and the organisation switched to digital platforms.
