Protest continues against arrest of Editor-in-Chief

PESHAWAR: The media workers renewed the demand for the release of the Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, as they continued the protest against his arrest on Thursday.

The protesters gathered at the Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV offices to voice anger at the continued incarceration of the head of the largest media group of the country. They held banners inscribed with slogans and were critical of the detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman for the last over five months. Those who addressed the protesters included Daily Jang Resident Editor Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Sabz Ali Shah, Ihtesham Toru, Gohar Ali and others.

The speakers said the Jang Group chief had been detained for the last 169 days on cooked-up charges. They said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was following a hostile policy against opposition political parties and the free media. The speakers said the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was illegal, adding he was being punished for not kneeling down before the rulers and defying the official pressures. They said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was biased against free media houses and favouring those in the ruling party. The protesters said the NAB had failed to act against those involved in the mega corruption scandals and was instead targeting the government opponents and the free media.

They requested the Supreme Court of Pakistan to intervene in the case and provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman who was being treated unfairly.