Fact-Check:  Is Kashmir Press Club turning into a Surveillance Hub? Here are the facts

A claim has emerged on social media platform X(formerly Twitter) alleging that Indian Police has taken over Kashmir Press Club, turning it into a surveillance hub. It has been forcibly occupied by Indian police & SIA, signaling a complete crackdown on independent journalism in Jammu and Kashmir.

An account named Kashmir English posted an image and wrote: “Indian Police Take Over Kashmir Press Club, Turning It Into a Surveillance Hub The Kashmir Press Club (KPC) in Srinagar has been forcibly occupied by Indian police & SIA, signaling a complete crackdown on independent journalism in J &K Journalists face constant surveillance, harassment & arbitrary detentions under draconian laws like UAPA & PSA. Media censorship & intrusive police verifications have eroded press freedom, making objective reporting on HRVs in Kashmir nearly impossible.

Fact-Check

The DFRAC team investigated this claim and found it to be manipulated. In reality, the Kashmiri CM has announced the re-establishment of the Kashmir Press Club.

We performed a Google keyword search regarding the above-shared claim, which gave us links to the latest reports in the result. These reports were published by various media outlets, such as Greater Kashmir, Free Press Kashmir, and ETV Bharat, covering the recent announcement by Kashmiri CM Omar Abdullah over the re-establishment of the Kashmir Press Club.

Reports from Free Press Kashmir and Greater Kashmir stated that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced on Thursday, Mar 20 in the Assembly that the Press Club in Srinagar will be re-established.

Addressing the House, he stated that journalists would be asked to form a managing committee, which would later oversee elections for its leadership. He emphasized the need for a unified press club, indicating that there should be only one such institution in the city.

This statement comes amid growing demands from the journalist community for a dedicated space to facilitate their work. While no specific timeline was provided, the announcement signals the government’s intent to restore a formal platform for media professionals in Srinagar.

Another report by ETV Bharat added that earlier, the opposition had dec ried the takeover and urged the government to restore the press club in Kashmir. “The takeover of the Kashmir Press Club (KPC) and converting it into a police office was an attempt to shoot the messenger and a thoughtful move”
But, the announcement by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of re-establishing the Kashmir Press Club again was welcomed by the media fraternity in the Valley.

Conclusion

 DFRAC’s fact-check clearly shows that the above-shared claim has been misleadingly shared on X. The latest updates report the announcement of the re-establishment of the Kashmir Press Club in the UT.