ISLAMABAD, May 16 (APP):Senior APHC leader Altaf Hussain Wani on Saturday strongly condemned the Indian government, alleging that human rights activists and digital content creators in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir are being subjected to an oppressive and suffocating digital surveillance regime marked by relentless monitoring, sweeping restrictions and systematic intimidation aimed at silencing dissent. While speaking to PTV News …
APHC Wani calls India’s digital control in Kashmir a systematic assault on civil liberties and media freedom
ISLAMABAD, May 16 (APP):Senior APHC leader Altaf Hussain Wani on Saturday strongly condemned the Indian government, alleging that human rights activists and digital content creators in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir are being subjected to an oppressive and suffocating digital surveillance regime marked by relentless monitoring, sweeping restrictions and systematic intimidation aimed at silencing dissent.
While speaking to PTV News channel, he said these are India’s tactics aimed at tightening control over the information space, particularly targeting human rights voices and individuals who highlight the situation in Kashmir on social media or identify alleged violations of privacy and civil liberties under surveillance systems.
He stated that activists and digital voices raising awareness about the Kashmir situation are being subjected to monitoring, restrictions and intimidation, which he described as an attempt to suppress independent reporting and silence critical perspectives on the ground realities in the region.
Altaf Wani further added that such measures reflect a broader pattern of digital surveillance and information control, arguing that they are intended to limit free expression, restrict access to information and discourage reporting on human rights conditions in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
He also mentioned that many journalists and political activists have been martyred in the line of duty in the past, adding that the risks faced by media professionals and civil society voices in Kashmir remain extremely severe even today under continued restrictions and surveillance.
Wani further stated that due to ongoing pressures and social media restrictions, Kashmiri newspapers and media outlets are increasingly unable to freely highlight human rights violations, resulting in a constrained information environment where independent reporting is significantly limited.
He urged the international community and human rights organizations to hold India accountable for its actions in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, calling for urgent attention to what he described as systematic violations of fundamental rights.
Senior leader APHC stressed that global institutions must take concrete steps to ensure transparency, protection of civil liberties and freedom of expression in the region, arguing that continued silence would further embolden restrictions and deepen the crisis for journalists and activists.
