In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, several journalists and members of civil society paid rich tributes and condolences to martyred journalist, Rayees Ahmad Butt, on his first martyrdom anniversary. Indian troops martyred a young Kashmiri freelance journalist, Rayees Ahmad Butt along with a youth during a cordon and search operation on this day last year in Rainawari area of the Srinagar city. The journalist fraternity of Kashmir valley paid tributes to a wonderful soul to all victim journalists in Kashmir.

Occupied Kashmir is one of the most dangerous places of the world where people associated with the press and media are performing their professional duties in the most difficult circumstances and situations, says a report released, today, by Kashmir Media Service.

It said 20 journalists have been confirmed as being killed while performing their duties during the Kashmiris’ ongoing liberation struggle since 1989. They include Shabbir Ahmed Dar, Mushtaq Ali, Muhammad Shaban Wakeel, a woman scribe Aasiya Jeelani, Ghulam Muhammad Lone, Ghulam Rasool Azad, Pervez Muhammad Sultan, Shujaat Bukhari, Ali Muhammad Mahajan, Syed Ghulam Nabi, Altaf Ahmed Fakhtoo, Saidan Shafi, Tariq Ahmed, Abdul Majid Butt and Javed Ahmed Mir.

The report said almost routinely, the journalists in the occupied territory face manhandling, abductions, murder attempts and death threats by the Indian troops and all this has made their everyday work extremely difficult. It pointed out that the Kashmiri journalists and many other scribes while performing their professional duties in the territory are roughed up, threatened, assaulted, summoned and detained by the Indian police, agencies and troops on fake charges. Several journalists, including Aasif Sultan, Fahad Shah, Irfan Meraj and Sajad Gul have been facing illegal detention under draconian laws and remain lodged in different jails in India and IIOJK.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP