Srinagar, July 23, 2018 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference has decried New Delhi’s advisory to foreign journalists to seek permission before travelling to Jammu and Kashmir. The APHC in a statement issued in Srinagar said, “This reflects New Delhi’s autocratic mindset as prohibiting foreign media and banning their entry to Jammu and Kashmir testifies our claim that Indian authorities are perpetrating excesses.”
If New Delhi feels that it has nothing to conceal, then it should not shy away from facing the world community over the day-to-day happenings in Jammu and Kashmir, the statement added. The advisory quoting from a letter, dated 22 May 2018 issued by the Indian External Affairs Ministry, said, “It has come to the notice of MEA that some foreign journalists based in India, while discharging their journalistic activities or travelling or for tourism purposes have travelled to places which come under restricted/protected areas that require prior permission/special permit.”
Commenting on the advisory note, the APHC said, “No cover or velvet gloves can cover blood drenched hands or conceal the war crimes committed by the Indian forces. Inhuman and callous approach of authorities can neither force us to submission nor break our resolve.”
“Laying curbs on journalists is an unsuccessful attempt to blackmail the international community,” he said adding that the world community should seek explanation over the motive behind such “autocratic and heartless” approach of New Delhi. Hurriyat spokesperson said Jammu and Kashmir is a highly militarised zone in the world where people are living in suffocated situations and their basic and fundamental rights are being “trampled”.
Appealing to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the APHC said, it is their moral obligation to check and see the human rights violations, and facilitate the resolution of Kashmir issue as per the aspirations of its people.
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