Chairman of Peoples Democratic Front Hakeem Yaseen has condemned decision of the government to stop the advertisements to the three news papers of the state— the Greater Kashmir, the Kashmir Reader and the Kashmir Uzma.
In a statement Hakeem Yaseen said that stoppingadvertisements to the newspapers amounts to strangulating the voice of people,especially at a time when the election process is at its peak throughout thecountry including Jammu & Kashmir. “The arbitrary ban on the selected newspapers is undemocratic andagainst freedom of press and freedom of expression.”
He urged the Governor, S P Malik to lift the ban onadvertisement ban on the news papers immediately. “The government is duty boundto facilitate press to highlight public issues and pinpoint lacuna , if any,in functioning of the administration asthe press acts as a watch dog between people and the government,” he said in astatement.
Hakeem Yaseen said, “The Press Council of India and theElection Commission of India should takea note of the harassment being caused to the press in the state by the governmentby imposing ban on the advertisements to selected newspapers.”
“Media houses in the state have been working under constantpulls and pressures due to ongoing abnormal security and political situationparticularly since 1990. It does not augur well for any Government to intimidate press under anycircumstances,” he added.