On World Freedom Press Day, police on Tuesday foiled “newspaper owners” march to Chief Minister’s residence and detained scores of scribes who staged protest against the government’s new advertisement policy.Accusing the authorities of forcing educated youth associated with media to take extreme steps, the protesting scribes appealed the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to save their future which is being ruined under a well planned conspiracy.Organized by Jammu and Kashmir Editors Association, the protest was led by its president Rasheed Rahi.Holding banners and placards which read ‘revoke new advertisement policy’, Owners, Printers and Publishers of different weekly and daily newspapers appeared at Press Enclave and staged demonstrations to protest the government’s new advertisement policy for unapproved newspapers.
“We have been waiting for empanelment of our newspapers for years now and when it was time to hold meeting vis-à-vis empanelment for government advertisements, a new policy was framed that not only shattered our dreams but we lost our money worth lakhs we had spent on publication over the years,” Farooq Wani owner of an English weekly claimed.“We will incur huge losses if this ‘biased and irresponsible’ advertisement policy will be implemented. Instead of reviving the Press Industry, the government is hell-bent to choke it,” senior journalist Imtiyaz Bazaz told CNS.Another senior journalist, Rashid Rahil said that “government should either revoke the ‘dictatorial policy’ or compensate the owners who have spent huge sums for publication over the years”Police bundled the protesting scribes including Rasheed Rahi, Sahil Nazir, Feroz Ali, Shahid Rashid, Muzafar Khan, Muhammad Yaseen, Nazir Makdhoomi, Rashid Rahil into already awaiting police vehicles and detained them for sometime at nearby Kothibagh police station. (CNS)