Jammu: The National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party reacted strongly to the State Investigation Agency’s raid at the Kashmir Times office here Thursday, terming it an attempt to exert pressure on the media.
Both parties alleged that the action represented a broader pattern of intimidation targeting independent media in Jammu and Kashmir.
The State Investigation Agency (SIA) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police raided the office of the publication for allegedly promoting activities against the country and recovered cartridges of AK rifles and those of pistols, among other things.
Reacting to the development, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Singh Choudhary said any action by the investigating agency must be strictly based on evidence of wrongdoing.
“If they have done something wrong, then action should be taken. If they have done wrong, they will face the consequences. But it should not be done just to exert pressure. If you do it only to put pressure, then that will be wrong,” he told reporters here.
Officials said the SIA raided the newspaper’s office in connection with a case alleging that the publication had glorified activities against the country.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti, the daughter of party chief Mehbooba Mufti, said Kashmir Times had long resisted attempts to silence it.
“Kashmir Times is one of those rare newspapers in Kashmir that not only spoke truth to power but refused to bend or buckle under pressure and intimidation. Raiding their offices under the guise of carrying out anti-national activities is preposterous and reeks of high-handedness.
“In Kashmir, every outlet of truth is being choked by invoking the anti-national slur. Are we all anti-nationals?” she posed.
PDP youth president Aditya Gupta also criticised the raid, invoking the legacy of the newspaper’s founder.
“Shri Ved Bhasin, the founder of Kashmir Times, built one of the boldest voices in J&K — fearless, truthful, and impossible to silence. His daughter Anuradha Bhasin carried that legacy forward with the same grit. For decades, the paper exposed some of Kashmir’s biggest stories of human rights abuses, disappearances, governance failures, and major political shifts. Through every threat and every pressure, Kashmir Times stood unshaken,” he said.
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