In custody

Who would have thought that a 34-year old case involving the purchase of land from a private party would be used as the flimsiest of flimsy excuse to detain Editor-in-Chief of the Jang/Geo Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in detention for six months. Mir Shakil has been in NAB custody for this period of time in connection with a case involving land he had bought. At the start of the matter it was never thought that bail would be an issue, given that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had willingly answered summons. On the one side, NAB keeps claiming that its primary mandate is to pursue mega corruption cases in the country, and on the other it picks up cases at will even if they don’t fall into the category assigned to it.

All along the way, the government has denied that the case against Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman has anything to do with curbing press freedoms, or muzzling the press. Many would disagree. These include the journalists protesting on the streets of Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and other cities as well as the international watchdog bodies, which have strongly criticized the detention by NAB and called it a breach of justice. This is especially true since there has only been a series of allegations and a series of conjectures. And yet Mir Shakil has remained in NAB detention week after week and month after month despite his fading health, his age and the illness of various family members, with his brother and sister passing away during the duration of this detention.

According to all decent legal practices around the world, an accused person is considered innocent unless he or she is proven guilty. There really is no justifiable reason for keeping Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman under continued detention without bail, apart from some known and unknown grudges against the Jang/Geo Group. Many are now convinced that the detention is an attempt to silence the voice of a media group that continues to speak truth to power, despite everything. Prime Minister Imran Khan says that his Naya Pakistan is one where journalists are free to do their work without fear. Indeed, the hallmark of a democratic country is a free press and the right of critics to raise their voice. Speaking truth to power has always been the pride of a free press. It is also what keeps a democracy flying high. This is why attempts to stifle voices will only damage the image of the country and also its government. As the law takes its course, we hope that the truth prevails.