New media policy an onslaught on freedom of press, should be revoked immediately: Hakeem

Srinagar: Chairman People’s Demi Front (PDF) and former minister Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen on Monday slammed the Jammu & Kashmir Government over it’s new media policy and termed it a big onslaught on the freedom of press. He has demanded to revoke the new media policy immediately.
In a statement issued here on Monday Hakeem while demanding revocation of the new media policy for Jammu and Kashmir ,said it was against principles of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under the Indian Constitution. He said the new media policy was a sort of colonial censorship on the free working of press and freedom of expression.
Describing the new media policy as an ugly scar on the face of democracy, Hakeem said censorship on the freedom of expression ,in the garb of new media policy , was in contravention to the ethics of journalism worldover. Deliberating on the new media policy, PDF Chairman said that it was against the interests of all newspapers, news channels and all other media outlets. ” The policy provides for informing the government and police beforehand before carrying any story ” Hakeem said adding, “In case one fails, his newspaper registration will be canceled, FIR to be filed against paper or will be deprivd from government advertisements”. He said that ” now it was in the hands of government to decide what to publish and what not,” He said the new media policy was a new low of coersion in the history of journalism and freedom of press . He said the media policy seems to a gameplan to scuttle flow of news from the Jammu and Kashmir conflict zone to the outer world.
Hakeem said that media in Jammu and kashmir was already working under tremendous pressure citing action by the Cyber crime branch against some press reporters including the reporter of national news paper ” The Hindu ” Peerzada Ashiq . ” Under these circumstances, the new media policy was bound to choke the voice of media further,” Hakeem maintained while strongly demanding to revoke it immediately.