Protest against arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman continues

PESHAWAR: The journalist community on Wednesday continued the protest against the arrest of Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and demanded his immediate release.

The protesters gathered outside the Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV offices. They were carrying banners and placards. They raised slogans against the detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and anti-media policy of the government.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Daily Jang Resident Editor Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Shah Zaman, Imdad Ali Qazalbash, Qaiser Khan, Gulzar Khan, Gohar Ali and others. The speakers criticised the government for detaining Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman for the last 175 days on cooked-up charges.

They alleged that the government was following anti-media policy to deflect the attention of the public from its poor governance. The speakers complained that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and his Jang Media Group were being targeted by the government for promoting objectivity in journalism. They were also critical of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) role and said it had a selective approach to actions over corrupt practices. The speakers said the NAB arrested Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman despite the fact that there was nothing wrong with the case, which had been used to justify his detention. They demanded the Supreme Court of Pakistan take notice of the case and provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.