“Policy will give Govt free hand to militate against journalists, muzzle free voices”
Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday demanded immediate rollback of Media Policy-2020 in Jammu and Kashmir, terming it a direct assault on the free press and akin to choking the voices of dissent.
PDP spokesperson and Media Advisor to Party President Syed Suhail Bukhari in a statement issued here termed the “Media Policy-2020” a step towards demolishing the democratic institutions, militating against journalists, and killing free voices with absolute immunity.
Bukhari said that Jammu and Kashmir is subtly treading towards an era wherein anarchy would rule the roost and dissent will become thing of the past. He said that by bringing in the new media policy, the government is actually implementing yet another element of the agenda it embarked on August 5, last year to disenfranchise and disempowering the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “The present media policy should not be viewed in isolation. It is very much inseparable part of the game plan which will bulldoze the institutions of justice and fair-play sans any compunction,” said Bukhari.
“It is unfortunate that after targeting journalists and trying to muzzle them by framing them under draconian laws, the government is now making Kashmir a testing lab for draconian measures to be later implemented in the rest of the country. It is also an indirect hint to the journalists in the rest of India that they could be the next target of this nefarious campaign and the new rules are tantamount to killing the chicken to terrify monkeys,” Bukhari said while demanding an immediate rollback of the new policy.
