The Press Council of India has issued a notice to the Jammu and Kashmir government and its information department over banning of advertisements to Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Reader newspapers.
“The Press Council of India has taken cognisance of thecomplaint by Kashmir editors’ guild (KEG) and protest by major newspapers ofKashmir by way of running front-page blanks on 11-03-2019 for non-issuance ofgovernment advertisements to two leading newspapers of the valley namelyGreater Kashmir and Kashmir Reader without giving any reasons,” a PCI spokesmansaid in a statement.
“A notice for ‘Statement in Reply’ has been issued to thegovernment of Jammu and Kashmir and the state information department,” thestatement said. “The Council views with concern such incident, which tends toundermine the freedom of press.”
In February, the Jammu and Kashmir administration, undergovernor Satya Pal Malik, had suspended government advertisements to the twonewspapers without specifying a reason.