Kashmir Centre for social & development studies (KCSDS ) is rudely shocked & terribly grieved at the brutal assassination of senior Journalist & chief Editor of daily Rising Kashmir Shujjat Bukhari. Carried in broad daylight, in a high security zone and coinciding with the indictment of India by UN human rights council for gross human rights violations in Kashmir, the assassination raises many questions.
Shujjat’s assassination is a tremendous set back to the cause of freedom of expression. His death adds to a long list of journalists killed & maimed in Kashmir over a period of time. A striking similarity is in the place of killing where Shujjat was gunned down. Nearly twenty three years ago, Agence France-Presse and Asian News International photographer, Mushtaq Ali was killed at the same spot and the place named after him.
His assassination is a sad and brutal event and our hearts go out to his wailing family and aged parents. But we will not let this contemptible and dastardly act to delay the demand for implementation of UN human rights council recommendations for a single second. Let us pray that his legacy will be a brighter and more hopeful future for the people he loved and whose cause he pleaded at every available forum.
KCSDS demands an impartial & independent probe to identify the assassins so that they are brought to justice.
There are many unanswered questions relating to the death of the journalist. As no one has claimed responsibility so far, the murder might have been committed by someone outside . The case should be probed immediately
Shocking for all the people having faith in parliamentary democracy and Indian Constitution