Senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has condemned the ongoing intrusive and arbitrary profiling of mosques, imams, and seminaries by authorities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, highlighting that journalists reporting on these actions are being systematically targeted, harassed, and intimidated. 

According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking on the alarming trend, Mirwaiz in a statement issued in Srinagar said, “The authorities have started the first ever profiling of religious spaces, including mosques and seminaries, and those who dare to report on it—our journalists—are being dragged to police stations, forced to sign affidavits, undertakings, and bonds. This is condemnable and a direct attack on press freedom.” 

He emphasized that religious institutions are not surveillance targets, and reporting factual events cannot be treated as a crime. “The media houses must stand firmly behind their reporters. A free and fearless press is essential for a democratic society, and it needs to be protected at all costs,” the Mirwaiz added. 

Local media and press freedom activists have also voiced concerns over this unprecedented move, noting that the use of legal coercion against journalists is creating a climate of fear and self-censorship, threatening the right to information of the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)