Journalists branded anti-national if they speak against government: Iftikhar Gilani

HYDERABAD: “In Kashmir, journalists suffer in silence. If they speak against the government, they are branded anti-nationals. On the other hand, if they speak against militants, their lives may be in danger,” Iftikhar Gilani, senior journalist and a close friend of the deceased editor of Rising Kashmir, Shujaat Bukhari, said here on Saturday.

Speaking at a discussion on the state of media in Kashmir, Gilani highlighted the perils in reporting in the Valley. “At least 13 Kashmiri journalists including Shujaat have been killed or died. Press continues to be a soft target,” Gilani said, requesting support from the journalist fraternity for scribes in the Valley.

Gilani, who was once arrested under the Official Secrets Act, released after spending seven months in jail, said, “Most people don’t know those that disappear first in the Valley are journalists. Mohammed Siddique disappeared in the 1990s and his wife and children are still waiting for him to this date.”

He also criticised the way media in rest of the country reports about Kashmir and its issues. “Kashmir unrest continues to be least reported. Most of the items in today’s news are ceasefire violations at the border. The issues of Kashmiris have been ignored and instead they have always been shown in a bad light,” he said.

Ifthikar Gilani, speaking at the discussion about the state of media in Kashmir said that  Indian mainstream media reported about Kashmir the way it reports about other states, militancy in Kashmir wouldn’t have increased. “The national media turned a blind eye to the mass rigging of the 1987 elections in the valley.’’ Gilani, who was college sophomore then, said “A present day Hijbul Mujahideen militant was contesting from there. He defeated the sitting candidate by a huge margin. However, he was dragged from the counting hall, beaten up and was let out after nine months. It was then that he went for militancy training,” Gilani said.

‘’The national media has never gone into the reasons why Kashmiris take up guns. It is because they have tried and failed democratic institutions. If democratic institutions and civil society organisations understand the pain in Kashmir, there is a possibility that rough edges can be smoothened,”  he remarked.
Recalling an incident about, he said Shujaat was once picked up by security personnel. He was confined in a room with a telephone. He remembered the number of the New York office of Committee to Protect Journalists, who intervened and  got him released.”