Demand renewed for release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman as protest goes on

PESHAWAR: The workers of the Jang/Geo Media Group continued the protest against the arrest of their Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman here on Thursday.

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans, the protesters renewed the demand for an immediate release of Mir Shakil. The participants chanted slogans against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and National Accountability Bureau for the political victimization of opponents and the independent media.

Speaking on the occasion, Daily Jang Resident Editor, Arshad Aziz Malik, senior journalist Shakeel Farman Ali and others condemned the illegal arrest of Mir Shakil in a three decades-old property case.

They said it was the first case where an accused had been detained for the last more than two months without even completing investigations and registering case against him. They said the PTI government was trying to suppress independent voice of the Jang Group as it had first stopped official ads and later detained its editor forcing thousands of employees into starvation. The speakers demanded immediate release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and withdrawal of cases against him. They vowed to continue with the protest till the acceptance of their demands.