NEW DELHI: Indian counter-terrorism units raided the office of The Kashmir Times over its alleged role in a “criminal conspiracy,” police said, with the news website calling the accusations “baseless” on Friday.
The State Investigation Agency (SIA) said the search late Thursday was part of an investigation into the Kashmir Times over their alleged involvement in a “criminal conspiracy with secessionist and other anti-national entities operating within and outside Jammu and Kashmir.”
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and both claim the Himalayan territory in full. Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad remain high over the issue.
The outlet rejected the allegations, and said the office that was raided has been shut for the last four years and “out of operation.”
The Kashmir Times, which started in 1954, became an online-only publication after one of its other offices was raided and sealed in 2022.
“The accusations levelled against us are designed to intimidate, to delegitimize, and ultimately to silence,” the outlet wrote in a statement on Friday.
SIA said it had seized a revolver, as well as a handful of live round and empty bullet cases, during the search.
“These recoveries indicate possible unlawful possession and suspected linkages with extremist or anti-national elements, warranting further detailed investigation,” it said.
Authorities also raided the residence of the Kashmir Times’ owner Prabodh Jamwal.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement that the raids were “deeply troubling and raise concerns about increasing pressure on media outlets in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government annulled the region’s partial constitutional autonomy, several journalists in the region have been subject to harassment and arrests. Their publications and homes have also bene raided.
Indian police have also carried out sweeping searches across the region since a deadly November 10 car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort, which security forces said was carried out by a Kashmiri suicide bomber.
No connection has been made between the news site raid and the Delhi explosion.
Indian anti-terrorism force raid Kashmir news office
https://arab.news/6wx48
Indian anti-terrorism force raid Kashmir news office
- Indian counter-terrorism units raided the office of The Kashmir Times over its alleged role in a “criminal conspiracy,” police said, with the news website calling the accusations “baseless” on Friday
Ukraine president to meet European allies after Trump criticism
- Talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami ended on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough
- President Donald Trump accuses Ukrainian leader of not reading the US proposal to end the war with Russia
LONDON: Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was due to meet with European allies in London on Monday, after President Donald Trump accused him of not reading the US proposal to end the war with Russia.
It comes after days of talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami ended on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough, with Zelensky committing to further negotiations.
The Ukrainian president will be received in London by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with the German chancellor and French president to discuss the negotiations.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is meanwhile expected in Washington on Monday, where she will meet her American counterpart Marco Rubio.
“The UK and US will reaffirm their commitment to reaching a peace deal in Ukraine,” the Foreign Office in London said, announcing Cooper’s visit.
Moscow has meanwhile continued to strike its neighbor, wounding at least nine people overnight Sunday to Monday, according to Ukrainian officials.
‘Disappointed’
Zelensky said he joined his negotiators for a “very substantive and constructive” call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during the Miami negotiations.
“Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram, adding that the parties agreed “on the next steps and the format of the talks with America.”
But Trump criticized his Ukrainian counterpart on Sunday, telling reporters “I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago.”
Witkoff and Kushner had met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin last week, with Moscow rejecting parts of the US proposal.
French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of Monday’s talks slammed what he called Russia’s “escalatory path.”
“We will continue these efforts with the Americans to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, without which no robust and lasting peace will be possible,” Macron wrote on X.
He added: “We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace.”
Hot and cold
Washington’s initial plan to bring an end to the almost four-year war involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not been able to win on the battlefield in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.
But the nature of the security guarantees that Ukraine could get has so far been shrouded in uncertainty, beyond an initial plan saying that jets to defend Kyiv could be based in Poland.
Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially embracing Putin and chastising Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.
But he has also grown frustrated that his efforts to persuade Putin to end the war, including a summit in Alaska, have failed to produce results and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.
