"Shutting Down Kashmir Press Club Sets A Dangerous Precedent": Editors Guild
NDTV
The Kashmir Press Club, founded in 2018, was the largest body of independent reporters in a region.
The Editors Guild of India in a statement today said that it is "deeply anguished" by the shutting down of the Kashmir Press Club, the biggest journalist body in the Kashmir valley, adding that it sets "a dangerous precedent" for media freedom. The top editors' body had earlier expressed strong reservation at the events during the weekend when the premises were forcibly taken over by a group of journalists with the help of armed policemen. Many termed it a coup. The Editors Guild of India is deeply anguished by the shutting down of the Kashmir Press Club, following a disturbing sequence of events- an armed takeover of the Club with the aid of state police, and its “re-registration" being earlier put "in abeyance".#KashmirPressClubpic.twitter.com/rhXyUWAn6h
The administration of the union territory of Kashmir has announced that the Kashmir Press Club has ceased to exist - it has lost its registration as a society, and its land has been reclaimed by the government.
"The shutting down of the club is the latest act in a sequence of disturbing events, wherein the 're-registration' of the Club was first arbitrarily put 'in abeyance' by the Registrar of Societies on January 14th, followed by the shocking breach of institutional norms when a group of people, with the active support of state police and CRPF, took over the office and management of the Club on January 15th," the Editors Guild of India said.
