Omar Abdullah hints at re-opening closed Kashmir Press Club in Srinagar

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah plans to re-open Kashmir Press Club, emphasizing press freedom and journalist rights.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday (March 7, 2025) hinted at re-opening the Kashmir Press Club (KPC) in Srinagar that was closed during the Lieutenant Governor’s administration three years ago.

“We are committed to strengthening Press infrastructure, facilitating greater access to information, and protecting the rights of journalists. We will take concrete steps to revive and support the Press Club in Jammu & Srinagar, providing a dedicated space for journalists to engage, collaborate, and contribute meaningfully to public discourse,” Mr. Abdullah said, in his budget speech in the J&K Assembly.

He said a free, independent, and responsible Press was the cornerstone of a vibrant democracy. “Our government is unwavering in its commitment to upholding press freedom and ensuring that journalists operate in a secure and transparent environment. The media plays a vital role in shaping public opinion, strengthening democratic institutions, and keeping citizens informed,” he added.

Mr. Abdullah’s remarks also assume significance as ruling National Conference legislator Bashir Ahmad Veeri from the Bijbehara constituency recently highlighted in the Assembly the alleged detention of journalists over reporting the felling of chinar trees in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

Referring to Anantnag’s Rani Bagh, where chinar trees were felled, Mr. Veeri told the Assembly that instead of taking action against those responsible for the illegal act, journalists who reported on the issue were detained at the behest of the district administration. Mr. Veeri had sought J&K Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather’s intervention “to ensure journalists are given a sense of belonging and freedom instead of being subjected to unwarranted arrests”. 

J&K’s summer capital, Srinagar is without a press club since the J&K administration in January 2022 put in abeyance the registration of the Kashmir Press Club (KPC), at a time when it was preparing for elections. The Club had around 300 journalists registered with it.

According to the Registrar of Society, J&K, the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), CID, has put on hold the non-involvement and verification of character and antecedent certificate of members of the managing body of the KPC, also known as Aiwan-e-Sahafat.