J&K’s regional parties, including the National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party and the Peoples Conference, expressed apprehensions about the possible misuse of the J&K administration’s newly framed media policy, which calls for background checks on reporters and legal action against “fake news”. “The new media policy is an assault on the freedom of speech and the role of the press in a democracy,” said NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar. “Freedom of press is what underlines the difference between a democracy and despotism,” he added.
