SRINAGAR (PTI): A premier Urdu daily of Kashmir, “The Aftab,” on Sept.10 decided to close down publication for an indefinite period “in the interest of Press Freedom.”
The newspaper made the announcement in a brief notice in Friday’s issue. It claimed that its decision was also in the interest of Tehrik (ongoing movement in Kashmir), reports the Daily Times of India.
The brief announcement gave no idea about the immediate reason for the decision. But Friday’s issue of the newspaper carried, in a separate column, the news that a particular militant outfit had sought an explanation from the editor and told him to appear before it within one week, A similar “summon” had been sent to the editor of another local newspaper, “AlSafa News.” ‘The two newspapers, along with a third, the Srinagar Times, have been caught in the “crossfire” between two rival separatist organizations here. Last month, the Srinagar Times carried a statement of a secessionist leader, Dr. Inayatullah Andrabi, which was critical of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front(JKLF), The JKLF reacted by slapping a ban on the newspaper and, at the same time, hurling serious allegations at Andrabi.
The editor of Aftab later told at an informal meeting called by a senior political leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, that he had decided not to publish the Mahaz-l-Islami”s rejoinder because it: was accompanied by a covering letter in which the organization had threatened to ban the newspaper if its statement was not carried.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 17, 1993
