KASHMIR A DANGER ZONE FOR JOURNALISTS

Ever since armed insurgency broke out in J&K in 1989, it has been a hot spot and a perilous zone, especially for journalists. While many scribes have died in the line of duty, it is after 15 years that a journalist has fallen to a targeted killing. HT looks at the journalists’ casualties in Kashmir.

1990: Lassa Kaul, director, Doordarshan station, shot dead in Srinagar.

1991: Al-Safa editor Mohammad Shaban Wakil killed in his office in Srinagar.

1992: Ali Mohammad Mahajan,an Urdu journalist, and his son shot dead in Srinagar.

1993: Radio Kashmir news reader Mohammad Shafi Bhat gunned down.

1995: Mushtaq Ali, a photojournalist working with International news agencies, was killed in a parcel bomb explosion.

1996: Body of Ghulam Rasool Shaikh, editor of Urdu daily Rehnuma-e-Kashmir, and English weekly Saffron Times, found floating in Jhelum. 1997: Altaf Ahmed Faktoo, a news anchor of Doordarshan, shot dead.

1997: Saidan Shafi, freelance journalist and also working with DD, shot dead along with his bodyguard in Srinagar. 2000: Hindustan Times photojournalist Pradeep Bhatia killed in a ca blast in Srinagar.

2003: Parvaz Muhammad Sultan, editor of a local news agency NAFA, killed by unidentified gunmen.

2004: Asiya Jeelani , freelance writer and rights activist, killed in a landmine blast in Kupwara.

2008: Ashok Sodhi, a photojournalist with Daily Excelsior, killed in crossfire near border.

2008: Javed Ahmed Mir, a photojournalist, killed while covering a protest in Srinagar. 2018: Rising Kashmir Editor Shujaat Bukhari shot dead outside his office in Srinagar.