The Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir is under fire from the global media watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) for threatening a Doda-based news portal, The Chenab Times, after it published a video on the detention of environmental activist Rehmatullah Padder under the Public Safety Act.

The CPJ’s condemnation comes amid growing outrage over the recent detention of several environmental activists in Jammu’s Chenab Valley under the controversial PSA, which allows for detention without trial. According to reports, five environmental activists were detained under the PSA for allegedly opposing projects on the Chenab river, a vital waterway in the region.

The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has condemned the detention of the activists, with around 250 signatories, including prominent social and environmental justice advocates, asserting that the individuals were labelled "anti-nationals" for their work on the ecological and social justice issues.

The activists are accused of obstructing projects deemed to be of "national importance", a claim critics have dismissed as a pretext for silencing dissent.

The department of information and public relations (DIPR), which operates under Omar's government, issued a legal threat against the portal for publishing a video report that featured Padder. The video highlighted Padder’s arrest and his activism against the unscientific disposal of solid waste in the region.

The CPJ condemned the threat, urging the Jammu and Kashmir government to cease harassing journalists for their reporting. “CPJ condemns the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir government’s threat of legal action against @TheChenabTimes following the outlet’s video report on the detention of a Doda-based activist. Authorities must cease harassing the outlet’s journalists in retaliation for their work,” it wrote on X.

The district administration, however, claimed Padder was an “overground worker” of militants and was not arrested for environmental activism.