The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) on Monday condemned the Jammu and Kashmir Registrar of Society for putting in abeyance the Kashmir Press Club’s (KPC) registration and the ‘forcible takeover’ of the club by a group of journalists, aided by the Jammu and Kashmir administration and the police.

A release signed by the secretary general of IJU Sabina Inderjit stated that the KPC had on Friday announced it would hold elections to form a new body on February 15, as it could not do so last year due to pending re-registration under new UT laws.

However within hours, the registrar in an order said the SSP, CID, office has put on hold the non-involvement and verification of character and antecedent certificate of members of the KPC managing body, known as Aiwan-e-Sahafat and thus, the “re-registration granted (to the KPC) on December 29, 2021 is hereby kept in abeyance till the receipt of final report from Additional District Magistrate, Srinagar,” it mentioned.

Meanwhile, within 24 hours, a group of journalists headed by Salim Pandit and Zulfikar Majid, arrived at the KPC office in Srinagar on Saturday, weekend curfew, took it over by appointing themselves as a ‘new body’, and locked the club for a week, in the presence of police and para military personnel, it added.

The release also informed that the KPC has reacted saying “The new unfortunate development has advertently stalled the election process for the new body that was set in motion. The management committee wants to put this on record that during its tenure it has run the KPC with professionalism and integrity. It hopes that the institution, which has been established after a lot of efforts by the fraternity, continues to be allowed to function in the best interests of its members.”

It also stated that the IJU in its National Executive Committee meeting held in Itanagar on January 12 had in a resolution, expressed solidarity with its Jammu and Kashmir journalist colleagues and demanded that the Jammu and Kashmir administration desist from stifling press freedom in Kashmir.

The union demands immediate restoration of the Club’s registration as a society and the elections are held at the earliest, it added.