J&K CM bans daily that focused on 'atrocities'

Srinagar: The Mehbooba Mufti government has banned the Srinagar-based English daily Kashmir Reader, fuelling fears that it might launch a full-scale media clampdown to crush dissent. Kashmir Reader, known for its anti-establishment positions, has been at the forefront of highlighting the alleged atrocities by the security forces during the three-month-old unrest. Farooq Ahmad Lone, the district magistrate of Srinagar, issued the order last evening asking the newspaper to stop its publication immediately, calling it a threat to "public tranquillity". "I, District Magistrate Srinagar, do hereby direct the printer, publisher and owner of daily Kashmir Reader to abstain from printing and publishing of the newspaper. Till further orders so that disturbance of public tranquillity is prevented," the order read. It claimed the newspaper contained "material and content which tends to incite acts of violence and disturb public peace and tranquillity". Hilal Ahmad Mir, the editor of the newspaper, said: "We are unable to understand how we could be a threat to peace. The order has not made any mention of specific content that can disturb the peace." Mir said the Valley's journalists now feared that the government might ban some other publications too. The government had earlier raided several printing presses in the Valley and seized newspapers, prompting the dailies to suspend their publication for a few days. A ban on Internet use on pre-paid mobile phones has remained in force since the unrest started in early July. Lone's order invoked Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Section 3 of the Newspapers Incitement of Offences Act of 1971 and Section 10 of the Press and Publication Act of 1989. "It has become expedient in the interest of prevention of this anticipated breach of public tranquillity to forthwith take necessary precautionary measures," it said.