UK, Europe journalists say MSR’s arrest is an attack on all media

LONDON: Pakistani journalists in UK and Europe affiliated with multiple organisations have demanded the immediate release of Jang/Geo Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, describing his continuing illegal detention as a black stain on the government’s face.

On 'World Press Freedom Day', more than two dozen journalists from at least four unions in the UK and Europe came together for a live session and called on Prime Minister Imran Khan to take steps to end attacks on media and ensure rights and guarantees for the media that he had promised when he was in opposition.

The constraints on press freedom in Pakistan - in the backdrop of MSR’s illegal arrest and detention by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as well as the government-encouraged actions against media, in general, were discussed while journalists expressed the need for unity at a time when media freedoms were evaporating in Pakistan, according to various national and international organisations.

Pakistani correspondents from UK, Europe, and USA and all over the world expressed solidarity and committed to joining hands against any attacks on press freedoms in Pakistan. The meeting was attended also by prominent anchors from Pakistan including Mubasher Luqman, Ajmal Jami, Salman Hassan and leading journalists in UK and Europe Azhar Javed, Wajahat Ali Khan, Farid Qureshi, Ghulam Hussain Awan, Khalid Hameed Farooqui, Shaukat Dar and others.

Mubasher Luqman, who did more than 70 shows against him a few years back, called MSR's arrest unfair and a clear attack on all media in Pakistan. He told journalists that he had no doubt that allegations against MSR in the 34 years old private property case are flimsy and he was being victimized to teach all media a lesson.

He said: "I openly say that Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman should get justice.”

Luqman questioned the authenticity of the charges against Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman and demanded that he be freed before the month was over. “There is an example of Khawaja Saad Rafique and Salman Rafique and several others who were kept inside for months and in the end, nothing was proven against them. Who will count for the lost years that they spent behind bars?”

Wajahat Ali Khan said that government-linked officials and social media accounts were involved in harassment of journalists for raising questions and doing their job. He said an organized campaign has been run against Hamid Mir and other journalists in recent days. He said nobody could deny the fact that journalists Rauf Klasra, Talat Hussain, Amir Mateen, Murtaza Solangi, Nusrat Javeed and several others had lost jobs due to censorship policies.

Azhar Javed, who announced the formation of the Overseas Pakistani Journalists Action Committee (OPJAC), presented these four demands which were agreed by all the attending journalists.

The first demand included action by the government of Pakistan on threats, character assassination campaigns, and social media trolling against journalists who were targeted for their reporting.

The OPJAC also demanded that Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman should get justice and should be released from illegal confinement before Eid.

The journalist's body also called for the government to announce a financial relief package from the government of Pakistan as it had done for other industries. Due to the non-payment of advertisement fees by the government, many media houses have suffered immense financial losses due to which they have been unable to pay their staff.

Veteran journalist Khalid Hameed Farooqi mentioned how he had been the target of multiple fake cases of murder, robbery, terrorism, and foreign funding after which he was sent to prison.

Shaukat Dar also expressed the need for solidarity and highlighted the role of journalists for democracy in Pakistan. He condemned campaign against journalists and media. Dar said that some people in Pakistan were trying to discredit media completely to end accountability.

Talk show host Ajmal Jami mentioned that journalism had been destroyed by people who hadn't spent time in the newsroom or worked in a newspaper but became anchors to protect the vested interests of some lobbies.

Jami said it was unfortunate that Pakistani newsrooms were being controlled by those who have never worked in newsrooms to learn the basic traits of media and newsgathering. Jami said a new generation of social media influencers were being created and encouraged to discredit the established and responsible media people. He said fake was a big threat to Pakistani media.

Anchor Salman Hassan said that speaking truth had become very difficult in Pakistan and anybody who spoke truth faced threats and intimidation. He described how difficult it had become to do the job without fear of being maligned and attacked.

The recent death of journalist Sajid Hussain whose body was found in a river in Sweden was also discussed by the journalists present at the meeting. It was discussed how many journalists had been the target of attacks but continued to deliver objective journalism without fear or favour.