Local newspapers in the Kashmir Valley today failed to hit the stands in view of the strict curfew being imposed by authorities after a fresh spell of violence left 18 people dead.
No newspaper, either English or Urdu, was published yesterday after a two-day holiday on account of Eid-ul-Fitr as the security forces allegedly refused to entertain curfew passes issued to mediapersons in the wake of escalation in violence.
Greater Kashmir, one of the leading Srinagar-based English dailies, in its online edition said the strict curfew and restrictions imposed by the government forced the local newspaper organisation and television networks to suspend their operations.
The government had also banned the broadcast of all local cable news channels in the Valley yesterday.
Condemning the “relentless media gag”, the Kashmir Press Association (KPA) in a statement said, “The unprecedented unrest of past three-months has hit the media industry in Kashmir severely. Thrashing of reporters, tearing their curfew passes by men in uniform has become a norm out here”.
