Kashmir reporter arrested over 'anti-national' posts

Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir have arrested a prominent journalist accused of publishing "anti-national content" as part of a widening clampdown on media in the disputed region.

On Saturday, police tweeted that Fahad Shah was wanted in three cases of "glorifying terrorism, spreading fake news and inciting general public for creating L&O (law and order) situations."

Shah serves as the editor of news portal Kashmir Walla. He was questioned by authorities in southern Pulwama town on Friday and subsequently arrested.

Police said Shah was identified among users of Facebook and other online portals who had published content that had a "criminal intention" to spark fear and could "provoke the public to disturb law and order."

Gunfight report linked to the arrest

Shah's arrest is believed to be connected to a gunfight inside a civilian house between Kashmiri rebels and Indian troops in Pulwama on January 30. Police had said a rebel commander was killed in the hostilities along with a Pakistani and another local militant. The fourth person killed was the house owner's teenage son. The authorities described the youth as a "hybrid" militant, a term police began use for alleged militants with no police record and who operate as civilians.

The Kashmir Walla website carried a series of reports on the gunfight presenting both sides. One video report quoted family members of the slain teenager refuting the police. Another piece of footage quoted the boy's sister which contradicted an earlier statement from the family.

Journalism under the microscope

In recent years Shah has come under increasing scrutiny over his reporting. He had already been questioned by police officers several times relating to his media work, long before Friday's arrest.

Shah's detention illustrated the "utter disregard" authorities have in the region "for press freedom and the fundamental right of journalists to report freely and safely," said the head of the Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) Asia program, Steven Butler.

Dozens of journalists in Indian-controlled Kashmir have regularly been summoned by police and questioned for their work since 2019, when New Delhi revoked the territory's partial autonomy, bringing it under direct rule.

jsi/dj (AP, AFP)