The Asia Desk of the Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called on the Indian government to end what it has described as the “brutal crackdown on the media”. It further asked the government to immediately release four arbitrarily detained Kashmiri journalists.

CPJ Asia`s remarks came amid the G20 meeting on tourism in Kashmir hosted by India. As the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir became a host to the 3rd G20 Tourism Working Group meeting under India`s G20 Presidency, three-day event held in Srinagar from May 20-22 received wide reactions from faces across different domains.

About 60 foreign delegates arrived in Srinagar on Monday. This was the first international meeting held in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh – in August 2019

Also read: In Photos: Security beefed up in Jammu and Kashmir for G20 meeting

Committee to Protect Journalists demanded the release of the four journalists — Aasif Sultan, Sajad Gul, Fahad Shah and Irfan Mehraj — who were detained under controversial anti-terror and preventive detention laws.

Journalist Irfan Mehraj is among the latest cases of journalists who were arrested by the authorities in Kashmir under controversial laws. Irfan Mehraj — founding editor of Wande Magazine, who also contributed to The Indian Express, Al Jazeera, Himal Southasian, DW and TRT World — was arrested under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Irfan, also an editor of TwoCircles.net, was arrested in case no RC-37/2020/NIA/DLI, the same FIR under which human rights defender Khurram Parvez was arrested.

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