Protest against Editor-in-Chief detention continues

LAHORE: Participants at a protest camp, continuing at Davis Road outside the Jang/Geo buildings, said on Friday the arrest of Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was a direct insult to basic principals and norms of justice.

They demanded that the incumbent government must refrain from suppressing the press freedom and release Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman immediately.

The speakers said that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was being subjected to inhuman treatment only because of his raising a voice for freedom of the press. They said the Editor-in-chief had gained more respect in the hearts of the Jang/Geo workers as well as the general public because of his firm stand against the enemies of the free media. The speakers expressed solidarity with Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and appreciated his struggle for the press freedom. The protest camp participants including senior journalists, Jang/Geo workers and prominent personalities from all walks of life said Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had never shied away from standing against tyrants.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Editor Jang Reporting and senior journalist Maqsood Butt, Editor Jang Shaheen Qureshi, senior journalists Zaheer Anjum, Shahab Ansari, Saadia Salahuddin, Shafiq Ahmed, Awais Qarni, Sher Ali Khalti, Qaisar Salim, Mohammed Farooq, Aziz Sheikh, Nawazish Ali Nawazish, Sohail Iqbal, Amir, Mohammad Nasir, Mohammad Wahid, Hafiz Asad, Munawar Hussain, Taimur, Javaid Iqbal, Wahab Khanzada, Mohammed Ali, Akmal Bhatti and Afzal Abbas. In Peshawar, the workers continued protest against the arrest of Editor-in-Chief Jang/Geo Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman here on Friday. Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands, the protesters demanded the immediate release of Mir Shakil and withdrawal of cases against him. The protesting journalists including Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali and others condemned the government for arresting the head of the biggest media group of the country in a 24 years old property case.

Terming arrest of Mir Shakilur-Rahman an attack on the media, they vowed to continue the protest till the acceptance of their demands, including the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and withdrawal of cases against him.

In Karachi, a senior Supreme Court lawyer Khwaja Muhammad Arif on Friday strongly condemned the illegal arrest of Jang-Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, who is under detention for over three months without any charge. Arif said that the Editor-in-Chief is being punished for not praising the inept policies of Prime Minister Imran Khan and upholding the truth. He condemned the curbs on the free media and termed them part of a large plot to close down the Geo and Jang Group.

Arif, who is a senior lawyer based in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, said that despite all odds and pressure, the Geo and Jang Group has refused to bow to government's coercion and choking of finances and stood firm on his principles for a free and independent media. “It is the reason that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman has been kept in detention without any charge.” He said that his illegal arrest has exposed the government's intentions to suppress the voice of free media. Arif said that Jang newspaper has been publishing since before independence and the founder of the newspaper the late Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman opted for Pakistan, instead of India, to live and run his newspaper. He asked the higher judiciary to take notice of the illegal arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.