Camp enters 10th day: Protesters demand release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman

PESHAWAR: The protest camp being staged by the Jang, Geo and The News workers to demand the release of their Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman continued on the 10th consecutive day on Wednesday.

More political leaders and civil society workers expressed solidarity with the Jang Group chief and workers of the media group by sitting in the camp. They included Jamaat-e-Islami KP chapter chief, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, and Awami National Party senior leader Syed Aaqil Shah. Speaking on the occasion, the JI leader condemned the arrest of Mir Shakil. He said it was the worst act by the government and a move to put the free press in chains.

He said the freedom of expression and independent media were a must for the progress of the country, democracy and supremacy of the parliament. “The JI stands with the Jang Group in its struggle for a free media,” added the senator. Syed Aaqil Shah of the ANP said his party always supported the independent media. He said Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had been arrested to stifle the free press but added that such efforts were bound to fail. The senior ANP leader said the National Accountability Bureau was staging a drama under the name of “Ehtesab” and argued that such cases had defamed the present government. Both the leaders demanded the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman forthwith as he signified a free and fair media.