Journalists vow to continue protest till release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman

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

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands, the protesters demanded immediate release of Mir Shakil and withdrawal of cases against him. The protesters chanted slogans against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for following in the footsteps of dictators to suppress the voice of independent media.

The PTI government, they said, was using the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for political victimisation of opponents but had adopted silence over other mega corruption scandals. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Arbab Khizer Hayat visited the camp to express solidarity with the workers of the Jang Group. Speaking on the occasion, Arbab Khizer Hayat condemned the government and NAB for arresting Mir Shakil in a 34-year old property case.

Terming it an attack on the press, he said the government was using national institutions against its opponents but they would not succeed. He posed a question as to why NAB was not taking action against people responsible for the mega corruption scandals including the Bus Rapid Transit project, Malam Jabba land scam, sugar and wheat flour crises. He demanded release of Mir Shakil and withdrawal of cases against him. Resident Editor Daily Jang Peshawar Arshad Aziz Malik also condemned the illegal arrest of Mir Shakil in a three-decade old property case.

He said it was the first case where an accused had been detained for the last more than two months without even conducting investigations and registering a case against him. He demanded release of Mir Shakil and withdrawal of cases against him.