New Delhi/Srinagar: Editors Guild of India on Friday expressed concern about the recent threats issued to journalists working in Kashmir and the subsequent resignations of five of the journalists from their respective media outlets.
In a statement, the Guild said that it strongly condemns such threats.
“Journalists in Kashmir now find themselves in the firing line from the state authorities as well as terrorists,” it said.
The Guild said that the media houses have once again been called ‘traitors’ and that ‘their timeline is sealed’.”
It also stated that the space for media freedom and active civil society is now steadily eroding in the region.
"The Kashmir Press Club, which had become an important institution for fighting for the protection and rights of journalists, was shut down by state administration earlier this year, which further weakened the layer of peer-driven protection for the journalists, ” it said.
"The situation has worsened further after pronouncements by terror organizations, and created a sense of fear and insecurity for journalists, which makes it difficult for them to work freely," the press body said.
“The Guild condemns these threats and calls upon the state government to create an atmosphere of security and trust wherein the media is not compelled to take sides and can work in a recent with full security, ” it said.
(KDC)