PROMINENT Journalist Gunned Down In J & K

LEADERS  of  political  parties  burying  political  ideologies led by Prime Minister  Narendra  Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh  have  condemned the  cold blooded murder of  journalist Shujaat Bukhari at Srinagar on  Thursday  as the Muslim community was  observing Ramzan. He was shot dead by three bike-borne terrorists outside his office in the capital of trouble torn Jammu & Kashmir.  Shujaat Bukhari, editor and owner of ‘Rising Kashmir’ (English) and ‘Buland Kashmir’ (Urdu), was attacked by armed terrorists when he stepped out of his office in Press Enclave at  Lal Chowk for an Iftar party on Thursday evening. The journalist and two of his personal security officers were attacked and were rushed to hospital. The senior journalist died on his way to the hospital. Both the personal security officers also succumbed to injuries. “It’s a very unfortunate incident. Today at about 7:30 pm when he was coming out of his office and boarding his car, three terrorists came on a motorcycle and opened fire. Two of his PSOs (personal security officers) were also hit and one of them is no more the other is under treatment. They were shot before they could react,” Jammu and Kashmir police chief S P Vaid told NDTV.”They (the terrorists) chose the Iftar time when everybody was rushing home. We will look into who these people are,” J&K police chief added. This is the first attack on a journalist in a long time in Kashmir which has been facing severe attacks on civilians and security personnel in the recent past.Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: “Killing of Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari is act of cowardice. It is an attempt to silence the saner voices of Kashmir. He was a courageous and fearless journalist. Extremely shocked and pained. My thoughts and prayers are with his bereaved family.” The killing of @RisingKashmir editor, Shujaat Bukhari is an act of cowardice. It is an attempt to silence the saner voices of Kashmir. He was a courageous and fearless journalist. Extremely shocked & pained at his death. My thoughts and prayers are with his bereaved family.Incidentally,  Bukhari  was Bureau Chief of The Hindu for 15 years.An extensively travelled journalist Bukhari was a writer in Kashmiri and Urdu and was also the president of ‘Adbee Markaz Kamraz’, the biggest and oldest cultural and literary organisation of Kashmir Valley. Bukhari had survived three assassination attempts during his challenging career. He did his Masters in Journalism from Ateneo de Manila University, Manila,  as a fellow of Asian Centre for Journalism, Singapore and was a recipient of the World Press Institute (WPI), USA, fellowship and Asian Centre for Journalism Singapore fellowship. This is the first attack on a journalist in Kashmir which has been facing severe attacks on civilians and security personnel in the recent past. He had been provided protection by the Police  since  he faced  attack in 2000.Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore called the killing of journalist Shujaat Bukhari “a shameful act”. The Union Minister said, “This is a shameful act. Media is free in India. The state government and the central government are committed for the freedom of press in the country and the state.” Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti says she “ is Shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden demise of Shujaat Bukhari. The scourge of terror has reared its ugly head on the eve of Eid. I strongly condemn this act of mindless violence & pray for his soul to rest in peace. My deepest condolences to his family”.Congress President Rahul Gandhi also tweeted his anguish over the killing of Shujaat Bukhari, “‘I’m anguished to hear about the killing of Shujaat Bukhari, editor of Rising Kashmir. He was a brave heart who fought fearlessly for justice and peace in Jammu and Kashmir.  He will be missed.”