Under the shadow of persistent fear and an indefinite clampdown, the besieged valley of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K) doesn’t offer much to the outside world to take an insight of it.
The fact further depicts a gruesome picture in IOJ&K as in addition to the extensive restrictions in all spheres of life especially on media, journalists are being subjected to harassment and intimidation.
Recently Kashmiri journalists including Kashmiri journalists Masrat Zahra and Peerzada Ashiq fell victim to Indian repression and booked under draconian laws for reporting the truth.
However, the Indian coercive tactics couldn’t deter journalists as they remained firm and apprised the world about the plight of innocent Kashmiris through their pen and photography.
It eventually led three journalists Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin affiliated with the Associated Press to win the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in the Feature Photography Category in recognition of their efforts and courage to highlight the Kashmiris’ sufferings.
Thank you Colleagues, friends, brothers. I would just like to say thank you for standing by us always. It’s an honour and a privilege beyond any we could have ever imagined. It’s overwhelming to receive this honor.
— Dar Yasin (@daryasin) May 4, 2020
It’s been 275 days since the Indian government placed unlimited restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, and now it is using different tactics to stifle the media in order to hide the ground realities in the Occupied Territory.
Meanwhile, various journalist organisations i.e. “The Committee to Protect Journalists” and “Reporters Without Borders” have urged the Indian authorities to allow journalists for working freely in the IOJ&K.
