Journalists demand release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman

PESHAWAR: The media workers renewed the demand for the release of the Jang Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman as they continued the protest for his release on Wednesday. The protesters were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans, which highlighted the demands.

The speakers, including senior journalists Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman, Imdad Ali Qazalbash, Shah Zaman and others termed the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman illegal, unconstitutional and an attack on the free media.

The protesters said the NAB had no jurisdiction to arrest a person in a three decades old property case.

They alleged that the government was following the anti-media policy. The speakers said various tactics were employed to pressure the Jang Media Group such as stopping advertisements and changing the frequency of the Geo News transmission to block its viewership. They deplored that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was arrested in a 34 years old property case without proving a single case of corruption against him. The speakers said the government should have conducted accountability of those involved in mega corruption scandals. The protesters appealed to the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of the case to provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.