Several leading newspapers in the Kashmir Valley ran their editorial spaces blank on Tuesday in protest against the killing of journalist and editor of daily Rising Kashmir Shujaat Bukhari.
A spokesman of the Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) said the decision to leave the space blank was taken in a meeting on Monday afternoon “to lodge a strong protest against the killing of the scribe”.
The editorial space of all major English dailies like Greater Kashmir, Kashmir Times, Kashmir Observer and Kashmir Monitor were left blank.
Bukhari, 50, was assassinated by at least three gunmen on June 14 outside his office. His two security guards were also killed in the attack.
The Kashmir Press Club’s coordination committee also held a condolence meeting in Srinagar. “The members said that the entire journalistic fraternity of Kashmir is yet to come out of the shock of Shujaat’s killing and does not know how the void created by the brutal murder will be filled,” said the spokesman.
Meanwhile, Director General of Police S.P. Vaid said the police has laid hands on “crucial leads in the case”.
The Separatist Joint Resistance Leadership called for a complete strike on Thursday against the killing of Bukhari.