Jang-Geo workers’ protest continues

LAHORE: A demonstration was staged at the Davis Road against illegal arrest and detention of Jang-Geo Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.

The participants included Jang Group Editor Shaheen Qureshi, Pakistan Inqalabi Party General Secretary Sabir Ali Haider, civil society representative Abdullah Malik, Zaheer Anjum, Awais Qarni, Muhammad Farooq, Jang Workers Union General Secretary Riaz Hussain, Akmal Bhatti, Allah Rakha, Muhammad Ali and Afzal Abbas. A number of Jang, The News and Geo employees, and people from various walks of life also participated in the demonstration. The speakers said a fascist group was ruling the country. They said it was trying to throttle the voice of democracy, adding that detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was an attack on the freedom of expression.

They said Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had always stood for the freedoms and rights of people of Pakistan. They said the Jang/Geo Editor-in-Chief always upheld the truth. They said battle-lines had been drawn today not between the Jang, The News and Geo and the state but between the 220 million people of Pakistan and a fascist government.

They said the NAB-Niazi combine would never succeed. They said the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was an attack on the freedom of press, guaranteed by the Constitution.

However, they warned,such tactics would not succeed in removing the Jang/Geo Editor-in-Chief from the scene or scaring him away. They said the superior judiciary should take notice of the matter and provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman. They said that the struggle for release of Jang/Geo Editor-in-Chief would continue, as there was no legal basis for his arrest at all.

In Peshawar, the workers of Jang/Geo Group continued to protest against the arrest of their Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands, the protesters asked the government to release Mir Shakil and withdraw cases against him forthwith.

They criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for trying to subjugate the press and victimise political opponents.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Secretary Information Ikhtiar Wali visited the protest camp to express solidarity with the workers of the Jang/Geo Group.

Speaking on the occasion, Ikhtiar Wali, who is also the provincial spokesman of his party, condemned the government for arresting Mir Shakil in a 34-year old property case.

Terming it an attack on the press freedom, he said the rulers were following anti-press and anti-media policies to stop them from highlighting the truth.

The anti-media policies of the rulers, he said, had pushed thousands of media workers towards starvation. He added that the government wanted to stifle the voice of the media outlets by arresting the editor-in-chief of the biggest media group in the country. Extending his party support, he said the PML-N would support the Jang Group at every forum till the release of Mir Shakil and the acceptance of other demands.

Ikhtiar Wali said the rulers would not be able to suppress the voice of the media through such tactics. He said the government was using the national institutions as tools for victimisation of the opposition leaders but they could not remove the love of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from the hearts of people.

He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) should hold investigations into the mega corruption scandals, including the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, Malam Jabba land scam, Billion Tree Tsunami project and sugar and flour crises if the bureau wanted to ensure accountability and fight corruption.

The PML-L leader asked the chief justice of the Supreme Court to help provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, who had been detained for more than two months without fulfilling the legal requirements.

Resident Editor Daily Jang Peshawar Arshad Aziz Malik also condemned the government for detaining Mir Shakil for the last 67 days, saying they would continue to protest till the release of Mir Shakil. He maintained that the government cannot prevent journalists from speaking the truth.

In Multan, the workers of Daily Jang, Geo News and The News along with traders on Monday staged a demonstration on Cantonment Road and demanded the release of Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.

All Pakistan Anjuman Tajran vice president Idrees Butt led the demonstration. Traders and civil society activists, Mazhar Naqvi, Saeed Ahmed Qureshi, Malik Rafique, Rana Imran and Malik Riaz, also attended the protest and expressed solidarity with the workers of the Jang Group. They condemned the detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and demanded his immediate release. The protestors alleged that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had been detained to stifle freedom of expression and media freedom in the country. They said that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was a beacon of hope of media freedom in the country and the rulers would not succeed in frustrating the determination of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman by arresting him. They said the media policies of the incumbent government were harmful for the freedom of expression in the country. They alleged that the government had undermined the people’s trust in democracy in the country. Anjuman Tajran Pakistan vice president Idrees Butt demanded immediate release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.

Meanwhiel, Pak Sarzameen Party leader and Karachi’s former deputy mayor Arshad Vohra said on Monday that the federal government had attacked independent media by arresting Jang Geo editor-in chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.

Speaking to the protest demonstration in Karachi, Vohra said that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was being persecuted through a fake case because the government wanted to pressurize him to abandon his independent editorial policies and instead toe its line.

He added that if the society did not join hands to fight this attempt against independent journalism then the government will control the whole industry and there will be no dissent or truth on media anymore.

He pledged support on behalf of the PSP and said that his party will continue to support employees of the Jang Geo Group in their struggle for the freedom of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and media.

Vohra asked the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s arrest and ensure and a free and fair disposal of the case. He remarked that despite the Jang Geo editor-in-chief was facing the allegations against him, his arrest bespoke of government’s nefarious designs. Qaumi Akhbar Employees Union’s general secretary Ifran Sagar said that the government must answer what it wanted to achieve by targeting the most reputable news group of the country. He said that due to these actions the employees of the Jang Geo Group were uncertain about their future.

Others who spoke at the demonstration included All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation’s secretary general Shakil Yamin Kanga, PSP’s Hafeezuddin, The News Employees Union’s president Saeed Muhiddin Pasha and general secretary Dara Zafar and Javed Press Employees Union’s general secretary Rana Yusuf.