IBN7 journalist claims news channel 'fabricated' his Kashmir reports, resigns

A Kashmiri journalist working for Network 18's IBN7, an Indian news channel, has resigned alleging that he was being forced by the channel to prepare "fabricated anti-Kashmir" reports.

Journalist Naseer Ahmed had been affiliated with Zee News Network for 16 years before he joined Noida based IBN7 Hindi news channel in November 2014.

"I resigned on moral grounds as the channel operators were forcing me to prepare anti-Kashmir reports only. They are biased and were refusing to air my reports reflecting ground reality of Kashmir," Naseer Ahmed told a Kashmir based news agency.

According to the report, he added that the channel was least bothered about civilian killings and its agenda was to twist facts about Kashmir and malign its image across the globe.

"After the killing of Hizb Commander Burhan Wani in July, the Editorial Board of IBN7 asked me to prepare a fabricated report against Burhan. When I refused, they contacted their Jammu reporter who did it for them from Jammu," Naseer was quoted by the agency.

He also claimed that the news channel misleads people of India through lies and distortion.

Ahmed said that he was shocked after the channel refused to air a story about an ATM guard from old Srinagar city who was killed by CRPF after they shot pellets into his body when he was on his way back home.

"Instead of airing this story, the Channel people asked me to find an injured security man anywhere in Kashmir Valley and prepare a story on him. Every time I send them a story based on facts, they distorted it and presented it from the prism of terrorism," he was quoted by the news agency.

"I resigned from the job in protest against the role this 'fanatic' channel played in kindling and then promoting a campaign of blind nationalism. This Channel is doing disservice to its own people and misleads them about Kashmir. This Channel runs fabricated stories on Kashmir to appease a section of people. My conscience didn't allow me to report false stories for them," Naseer said and added that IBN7 has no transparent and stringent system and it follows blind nationalism when it comes to Kashmir.