Jammu and Kashmir is one of the most militarised regions in the world and voices critical of the authorities have been intensely repressed since August 2019, when its autonomy was revoked. The press freedom situation further deteriorated during the clashes between India and Pakistan in May 2025 that followed the Pahalgam attack, notably with the arreston 7 May of independent journalist Hilal Mirover a Facebook post deemed subversive. In addition, several media outlets were blocked on X, including Maktoob Media, Free Press Kashmirand The Kashmiriyat.

In this oppressive climate, reporters who still attempt to do their job remain under constant surveillance and risk arrest and reprisals when they tackle subjects considered sensitive, such as abuses by security forces. Their sources remain silent out of fear. Deprived of stable internet access - and, at times, press cards - and regularly summoned by the police, journalists increasingly work in isolation.

Drawing on several first-hand accounts from journalists who wish to remain anonymous, RSF outlines the disturbing obstacles faced by journalists in Jammu and Kashmir today.

Sensitive topics, silent sources

• Subjects too risky to cover:journalists routinely avoid sensitive topics such as human rights abuses, security operations and dissent to avert reprisals - including arrest - by the security forces. Since 2019, 20 journalists have been arrested because of their reporting according to RSF data, including The Kashmir Walla's editor-in-chief Fahad Shah, who was arrestedin 2022 after his outlet covered a shootout between militants and government forces. He remained in detention for almost two years.
• Silent sources:worried for their safety, citizens hesitate to speak to journalists. "I cannot tell the stories I want to tell. When something happens, no one talks," a local journalist told RSF.

Legal repression and security harassment

• Arrest under anti-terrorism laws:in recent years, more than a dozen journalists have been questioned or held for extended periods, often under draconian laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Arrested in March 2023 by counter-intelligence services, Wande Magazinejournalist Irfan Mehraj remains in detentionon no fewer than nine charges ranging from "sedition" to "financing terrorism."
• Surveillance by security services:phone tapping, digital monitoring and tailing are routine practices. "Everything I write or say is constantly monitored," another local journalist told RSF. "The police call me regularly to ask where I am or what I'm doing." Visits by security forcesto journalists' homes and summonses for "informal interrogations" are also common, according to RSF information.

Internet shutdowns and other professional obstacles

• Limited internet access: after a long internet shutdownin 2019 and a partial resumption in 2020, internet connections are now often limited to 2G and are regularly cut during security operations.
• Deprived of press cards: since 2019, many journalists working for independent outlets, including freelancers, have been denied the renewal of their press cards, which hinders their ability to travel across a region riddled with checkpoints. "I am often asked for my press card at checkpoints, and I have nothing to show; I can't prove my status," one of these journalists laments.
• Cancelled passports and flight bans:since 2019, at least a dozen journalists, have had their passports revokedby the Ministry of External Affairs without justification, according to RSF data. Between 2019 and 2022, at least 22 journalists were also placed on a watch list called a "look out circular" and prohibited from traveling abroad, according to an investigationby the online outlet The Wire. In July 2022, Kashmiri photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Sanna Irshad Mattoowas barred from boarding at Delhi airport without any justification, despite being invited to the Arles photography festival in France.

Professional isolation

• The closure of the Kashmir Press Clubby the local administration in the Kashmiri capital Srinagar in January 2022 has deprived journalistsof a safe collective workspace, institutional support and a venue for professional exchange.
• Isolation:this climate of insecurity fuels burnout and psychological harm. "You cannot work freely, speak freely; it is hard to trust. This is what happens when a community lives under years of oppression," a local journalist told RSF.