Protest continues against Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s arrest

PESHAWAR: The workers of Jang/Geo Group continued the protest on Friday to seek an early release of the Jang, Geo and The News Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman as they termed his arrest illegal, unconstitutional and an attack on the independent media.

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans, the protesters urged the government to release the owner of the largest media group of the country and withdraw fabricated cases against him.

Speaking on the occasion, the senior journalists including Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Imdad Ali Qazalbash and others said the media workers throughout the country had been protesting for the last 135 days for the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman. They severely criticized the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for detaining Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in a 34 years old property case for which all the legal requirements had been fulfilled. The protesters likened the arrest to an attack on the independent media. They said the rulers could neither suppress the voice of the independent press nor opposition through such tactics. They appealed to chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of the ongoing injustices with Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and his media group.