Police seize copies of English and Urdu dailies in Kashmir

Srinagar, Nov 7 (UNI) The Jammu and Kashmir police today seized all the copies of a leading English daily ''Greater Kashmir'' and Urdu daily ''Kashmir Uzma''.

A Greater Kashmir spokesman, quoting hawkers and other distributors, alleged that police seized all the copies of newspaper and its sister publication Uzma this morning.

''We could distribute only few copies before police raided the news stalls and hawkers and seized the copies of both the newspapers,'' he said.

Describing it as an attack on the freedom of press, he said the management of the newspaper was receiving such threats from the government for the past two weeks.

''We will not be cowed down by such measures as we will continue to highlight the problems of the people of the Jammu and Kashmir,'' he said.

He said though they did not know why the copies of the newspapers were seized, but publishing the statement of the Coordination Committee (CC), spearheading the present agitation in the valley, could be the reason.

The spokesman said they had reports that copies of both the newspapers dispatched to different areas of the valley have also been seized.

However, both the newspapers were available on the internet today, he said.

The government has recently advised local newspapers not to publish any statement or advertisement of the separatists in the state.

Meanwhile, mediapersons had a tough day today as they their movement was restricted by the security forces deployed in the summer capital to strictly enforce the undeclared curfew.

A group of mediapersons had verbal clash with the security forces posted at Rambagh after they were not allowed to move towards city.

''We have orders not to allow anybody to city from this point,'' said the security forces officials who had blocked the bridge with barbed wire.

Similar road blocks were also put in other parts of the city.

UNI BAS GL KN1607