Newspaper editor injured in shooting attack

Ghulam Mohammad Sofi, editor of the Urdu daily Srinagar Times, was shot at by two armed men on 17 September. "This attack is yet another clear illustration of the difficulties and dangers faced by journalists working in Kashmir. Caught in the crossfire between Indian security forces, Pakistani militants, and separatists, they are the victims of constant threats and intimidation from all sides, and these have even gone as far as murder," says Robert Ménard, Secretary-General of Reporters Without Borders. At 7.00 p.m. on 17 September, two young men entered Sofi's office in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, and opened fire on him. The journalist sustained a bullet injury to his right hand and his personal security officer was hit by a bullet in the leg as he attempted to intervene. The assailants have not been identified. The Srinagar Times supported the electoral process which opened on 16 September and which should result in the designation of a new state assembly. The elections are contested by many Pakistani and separatist militants however, who see them as legitimising the Indian presence. Just hours before the attack on Sofi, the United Jehad Council, a Pakistani organisation, had criticised several local newspapers for their pro-Indian coverage of the elections, and warned that they were "aware of the black sheep among journalists" and that these should "mend their ways". In May 2002, Zafar Iqbal, a journalist for the English-language daily Kashmir Images was seriously injured in an attack by unidentified assailants. Since 1989, at least 12 journalists have been killed in the part of Kashmir under Indian administration.