GENEVA -UNS:Member Kashmir delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council Advocate Parvez Ahmad Shah in his intervention before Council said that the right to engage with the United Nations mechanisms is a basic exercise of fundamental freedoms and human rights of all and must be respected and protected.
However, In Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir over the years, the reported number and severity of reprisals against journalists, and groups engaged with the UN have increased. Former UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, had afforded some focus by highlighting the dedicated state repression and high-handedness against the local journalists.
For over a decade now, the international journalists remain barred from entering and reporting from the disputed territory. In addition, the internet and other communication services are often snapped or throttled at a very low speed denying people any meaningful way of communicating. Political dissent is criminalized by draconian laws, pushing journalists and newspapers into near total submission while continually perpetuating an atmosphere of fear.
Newspapers who tried to highlight the state repression have been targeted through various crude ways to deter others from speaking.The Kashmir Walla, a news site that covered the Kashmir conflict and its effects on people’s lives is one of the most recent victims of this repression. The Kashmir Walla’s website and social media accounts were shut down by the authorities on August 19, 2023 on the ground that they were “glorifying terrorism” and “spreading fake news”.
