BBC to try, expand Kashmir news 'on our short wave radio services': top official
BBC to expand Kashmir news on its shortwave radio services, its World News director said, citing 'shutdown of digital services and phone lines'
August 15, 2019
LONDON: The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) would "try and increase the provision of news on our short wave radio services" in occupied Kashmir, its world service's top official said on Thursday, citing the communication blackout in the disputed Himalayan region.
Speaking about the BBC's decision to expand its shortwave radio news coverage in Kashmir, BBC World Service Director Jamie Angus said: "Given the shutdown of digital services and phone lines in the region, it´s right for us to try and increase the provision of news on our short wave radio services."
The BBC said the number and length of its programmes would grow in a variety of languages spoken in the densely-populated region of the Indian-administered part of Kashmir.
"The provision of independent and trusted news in places of conflict and tension is one of the core purposes of the World Service," Angus added.
The British broadcaster's move was aimed to ease the impact of a communications blackout imposed by the Indian government and the announcement came after New Delhi scrapped an article of the Indian constitution granting special status to Kashmir, which has its residents confined to their homes, incommunicado.
Occupied Kashmir has been under lockdown since the day before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the change on August 5, with stakeholders, global powers, and world bodies calling for peace and condemning New Delhi's atrocities and sudden move without consulting the Kashmiri folks.
The BBC said its News Hindi radio output would be extended by 30 minutes from Friday. BBC News Urdu — the official language of Pakistan spoken by Muslims who comprise the majority in occupied Kashmir — would launch a 15-minute daily programme on Monday.
The BBC World Service added that its English morning broadcasts would end an hour later than usual. The evening English-language news, on the other hand, would start an hour earlier and end at their usual time.
The BBC said India is now its radio service's largest market — picked up by 50 million people a week. Short wave transmissions travel thousands of kilometres (miles) and are able to bounce over mountains that dominate the region.
