6 months ago
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Senior editors of the Kashmir Times, Prabodh Jamwal and Anuradha Bhasin, connected Thursday (November 20, 2025) said the accusations levelled against them were “designed to intimidate, to delegitimise and yet to silence”.
“We volition not beryllium silenced. We are being targeted precisely due to the fact that we proceed to bash our work. In an epoch erstwhile captious voices are progressively scarce, we stay 1 of the fewer autarkic outlets consenting to talk information to power,” Mr. Jamwal and Ms. Bhasin said, successful a associated statement.
The Kashmir Times issued the connection successful the aftermath of ongoing searches of the Jammu office of the paper since Thursday (November 20) morning. Initial reports suggested that a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against the editors of the organisation. The J&K Police has not issued immoderate connection connected the searches.
The editors further said the reported raids connected the office, the baseless accusations of activities “inimical to the state”, and the coordinated crackdown connected the Kashmir Times are “yet different effort to soundlessness us”.
The connection said criticising the authorities was not the aforesaid arsenic being ‘inimical to the state’. “In fact, it is the precise opposite. A robust, questioning property is indispensable to a steadfast democracy. Our enactment of holding powerfulness to account, investigating corruption, amplifying marginalised voices strengthens our nation. It does not weaken it,” it added.
“Since 1954, the Kashmir Times, whose founding exertion was Ved Bhasin, has stood arsenic a pillar of autarkic journalism. We person chronicled the region’s triumphs and failures with adjacent rigour. We person fixed dependable to communities that would different spell unheard. We person asked hard questions erstwhile others remained silent,” the connection said.
The editors of the paper called upon the authorities “to instantly cease this harassment, retreat these unfounded allegations, and respect the law guarantees of property freedom”.
“We telephone connected our colleagues successful the media to basal with us. We telephone connected civilian society, connected citizens who worth their close to know, to recognise that this infinitesimal is simply a trial of whether journalism tin past successful an situation of expanding authoritarianism,” it said.
Journalism is not a crime. Accountability is not treason. And we volition proceed to inform, investigate, and advocator for those who beryllium connected us, the connection said.
“The authorities whitethorn person the powerfulness to raid our offices. But it cannot raid our committedness to the truth,” it added.
The newspaper’s people variation was suspended successful 2021-2022 aft relentless targeting and the organisation switched to integer platforms.
