Release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman sought

PESHAWAR: Journalists on Friday continued the protest against the arrest of the Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, and renewed the demand for his immediate release.

The protesters gathered outside the Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV offices, carrying banners and placards which condemned the incarceration of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman since March 12 in a property case. They chanted slogans against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for pressuring the Jang Group and detaining Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman. Jang Resident Editor Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Sabz Ali Shah, Farmanullah Jan, Ihtesham Toru, Gulzar Khan, Qaiser Khan and others spoke on the occasion.

They said Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had been under detention for the last 163 days on false charges in a deal which had been cooked up. The speakers said the PTI government was making bids to tame the free media and was targeting the non-pliant media houses. They said the arrest of the Jang Media Group was a case in point. The protesters elaborated that thought the legal experts had clearly said that the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was illegal and unconstitutional, the head of the largest media group of the country continued to be interned which was a clear case of victimisation.

The speakers said the PTI government was pursuing an anti-media policy after assuming powers at the Centre and pressuring the Jang Group by employing different means. They were critical of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for its bias against government opponents and independent media. The speakers said the anti-graft body was intentionally not acting against the PTI members in the government despite the fact that they were linked to corruption and mega scandal scandals. They requested the apex court to take notice of the detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and provide justice to him as his arrest was affecting thousands of media workers associated with the Jang/Geo Group.