Jammu and Kashmir

In a 5 February 2003 letter to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, CPJ condemned the murder of journalist Parvaz Mohammed Sultan, editor of an independent wire service based in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir State. On the evening of 31 January, Sultan, editor of the News and Feature Alliance (NAFA), was shot dead by an unidentified gunman. Two men entered Sultan's office...

RSF has condemned the 31 January 2003 murder of Parvaz Mohammed Sultan, owner and editor-in-chief of the local news agency News and Feature Alliance (NAFA), in the summer capital, Srinagar. The organisation has called on the state's chief minister and the federal home affairs minister to quickly arrest and try those responsible for the murder. Sultan, aged 35, was shot dead at his home office in...

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release from prison today of Iftikhar Gilani, New Delhi bureau chief for the Jammu-based newspaper Kashmir Times. Authorities had accused Gilani of possessing classified documents "prejudicial to the safety and security of the country," a charge they finally admitted was unsubstantiated. "Iftikhar Gilani's release is long overdue," said CPJ...

On 24 December 2002, RSF reiterated its call for the immediate release of detained Kashmiri journalist Iftikhar Gilani after a senior military officer told the judge in charge of the case that Gilani is innocent. On 23 December, officer O. S. Lochab, director general of the Indian military secret service, testified before Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal of the New Delhi Metropolitan Court that the...

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday's attack on Ghulam Mohammad Sofi, a prominent editor in Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir State. Two young men entered the offices of Sofi, editor of the popular Urdu-language daily Srinagar Times, at about 6:30 p.m. yesterday and opened fire. Sofi's bodyguard attempted to block the assailant and was shot in the...

On 9 September 2002, RSF denounced India's formal accusation of "military espionage" against journalist Iftikhar Gilani. Gilani is the New Delhi bureau chief for the "Kashmir Times" and a correspondent for the Pakistani daily "The Nation". "The charge of spying for a foreign power is a big favourite of governments trying to silence or intimidate journalists who are critical," said RSF Secretary...

Journalist Iftikhar Gilani, the Kashmir Times' correspondent in New Delhi, remains imprisoned after Judge Sangeeta Dhingra Shehgal on 31 July postponed until 8 August consideration of his request to be released on bail. His detention was criticized by the Press Council of India two days before this decision. Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières - RSF) called today on US secretary...

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by today's attack on Shahid Rashid, editor of the Urdu-language daily State Reporter. Rashid was shot this morning by masked gunmen as he rode his scooter to the newspaper office in the Chanapora area of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir State. Both Pakistan and India claim the disputed territory of Kashmir for their own...

The hearings resumed in the Geelani case on 18 June. The journalist had been remanded in custody for a further three days on 15 June. According to V.K Ohri, Iftikhar Geelani's lawyer, the documents seized from his client's home had been available on the Internet since 1993. Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières) called today for the release of Kashmiri journalist Iftikhar Ali...

On 11 June 2002, RSF called for the release of Kashmiri journalist Iftikhar Ali Geelani and suggested his arrest was an attempt to restrict coverage of events in Kashmir. "Charging a Kashmiri journalist under the Official Secrets Act in the present circumstances would seem an effort to intimidate any media which tries to report independently on the conflict in the province," said RSF Secretary...