Protest against arrest of Jang/Geo Chief Editor continues

PESHAWAR: The workers of the Jang/Geo Group on Tuesday continued the protest against the arrest of their Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.

The protesters were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands. They urged the government to release Mir Shakil and withdraw forthwith all the cases instituted against him. The protesters criticized the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for using the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to victimize its political opponents and independent media. They chanted slogans against the government-NAB nexus, saying it was not acceptable to them. The protesters recalled that the editor-in-chief of Jang, Geo and The News represented the biggest media group of the country but had been behind bars for the last 68 days without proving any case of wrongdoing against him. Speaking on the occasion, Resident Editor of Daily Jang Arshad Aziz Malik, senior journalists, Shakeel Farman Ali and Syed Asad Ali Shah condemned the government for detaining Mir Shakil for the last over two months. They said the detention was a bid to pressurize media and stop it from highlighting truth. The speakers hoped such cheap tactics would fail and independent media would continue to work fearlessly.