UK Kashmiris praise Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman for highlighting Kashmir cause

LONDON: British Kashmiri groups have demanded support and justice for Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman who has been arrested in a 34-year-old fake land case by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) without being charged – and locked in Camp Jail Lahore.

The Jammu & Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKHCR) which has been granted special status by The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations expressed deep concern on the continued arrest and detention of Jang/Geo Media Group chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman by NAB authorities in a 34-year-old property case. Dr Syed Nazir Gilani, who is the president of JKCHR, has said that the administration of justice in MSR’s arrest has ‘streaks of mala fide’ in holding a leading citizen of the country in a manner which does not sit well with the institutional fairness.

He said: “Jang Group has served the country and in particular the (Kashmiri) diaspora in the early 1980s and 1990s with dignity and commitment. Jang was the only medium that connected the diaspora back home in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir during those early times. It generated community interaction by arranging “Jang Forums” and remained a source of inspiration to old and younger generation.”

Dr Nazir Gilani has also appealed to the government of Pakistan to intervene and check this misdirection of wisdom by NAB. “The institution that is holding Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman is running the risk of making the process of accountability and right to liberty, a cause of concern not only for Pakistanis, Kashmiris but for a wider community that has witnessed the great dedication and commitment of service of the Jang/Geo Group all these years.”

The Chairman of Kashmir Campaign Global, Zaffar Ahmad Quraishi thanked Geo for highlighting the plight of Kashmiris and expressed hope that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman would be treated fairly.