Journalists in Jammu and Kashmir Face Repeated Police Summons, Pressure to Sign Bonds

New Delhi: Journalists from Jammu and Kashmir working with national media outlets are reportedly being repeatedly summoned for police questioning and pressured to sign bonds. According to The Wire, Bashaarat Masood, Assistant Editor at The Indian Express Srinagar bureau, was summoned to a Jammu and Kashmir police station for five consecutive days and asked to sign a bond stating that he would “not repeat mistakes.” He refused to sign the bond.

Masood was first summoned to the Cyber Police Station on January 14, where he was made to wait for several hours. Police reportedly claimed that a news report he published regarding a police inquiry into mosques posed a threat to public order. After he refused to sign the bond, he was repeatedly called back to the station on subsequent days.

Similarly, Hindustan Times reporter Aashiq Hussain was also asked to appear at a police station. He responded that he would comply only if the police provided the reason for the summons in writing.

Journalists in the region say that being called in by the police over news reports and social media posts has become a routine occurrence in Kashmir.

In December last year, police seized the phone of The Wire journalist Jehangir Ali. In November, the office of Kashmir Times was raided and equipment confiscated. Earlier, in May, another senior journalist was taken into police custody over a social media post.