Protest continues against arrest of Chief Editor

PESHAWAR: The workers of Jang Group continued protest for the 103 consecutive day to protest against the detention of their Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman here on Wednesday.

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans, the protesters demanded immediate release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and withdrawal of cases against him. Condemning the government and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for detaining editor of the major media group in a 34 years old private property case, the speakers said Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was arrested without completing the investigation process. They said the PTI government had started strangulating independent voice of the media instead of tolerating criticism and improving their performance. The government used national institutions to victimise its opponents and silence independent media, they added.

Such efforts, they said, had failed in the past but the rulers were trying to harass and suppress media through cheap tactics. The rulers should have hold accountability of responsible people in the mega corruption scandals including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Malam Jabba and Billion Tree Tsunami if they were really interested in accountability, they added. Demanding immediate release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and withdrawal of cases against him, the workers including Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Shah Zaman and others said they had rendered sacrifices in the past and would do so in future if their genuine demands were not met.