Political leaders condole death of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s sister

KARACHI/LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: Important political leaders of the country have expressed grief and sorrow over the death of sister of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, Editor-in-Chief of Jang/Geo Group, and demanded permission for him to attend his sister’s funeral and join the family to share the grief.

PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, JI chief Sirajul Haq, Naib Ameer Liaquat Baloch, Ayaz Latif Palejo, Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwalla, Opposition Leader in Senate Zafarul Haq and other leaders have expressed grief over the death of sister of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and demanded that he be allowed to attend his sister’s funeral.

They expressed solidarity with the family of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in this hour of grief and prayed for eternal rest of the departed soul. They said the death of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s sister after the death of his elder brother Mir Javed Rahman is a big loss.

Earlier in the day in Karachi, leaders of the Jang-Geo Joint Action Committee in a joint meeting demanded the government to immediately release Jang-Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman on parole and allow him to attend the funeral of his sister.

The meeting the joint action committee was held at the Jang union office where the participants offered condolences on the death of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s sister who passed away on Saturday in London. She was under treatment at a London hospital for cancer.

The participants of the meeting also urged the government to release Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and withdraw cases against him.

All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation Secretary-General and Jang Publications Employees Union’ Secretary General Shakeel Yamin Kanga, The News Employees Union's President Saeed Mohiuddin Pasha and Secretary General Dara Zafar, and Javed Press Union general secretary Rana Yusuf attended the meeting, while senior journalist Fahim Siddiqui and Jang Union president Rafiq Bashir attended the meeting via phone.

The participants said on the one side, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had been detained for the past four months in a 34-year-old baseless property case and on the other hand, his family members had been harassed through vile tactics.

They said that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was still mourning the loss of his elder brother Mir Javed Rahman, who died three months ago and now the death of his sister had further saddened him.

“We demand the government to immediately release Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman on bail at this hour of grief so that he could attend the funeral of his sister,” the leaders of Jang Geo Joint Action Committee said.

In Lahore, protest against illegal arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman continued even in heavy rain on Sunday.

The protesters, mainly Jang and The News employees, shouted slogans against the act of the government and said the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman could not break his voice against the wrongdoings of the government.

Maqsood Butt, Zaheer Anjum, Muhammad Farooq, Awais Qarni, Aziz Sheikh, Riaz Hussain and others demanded the superior courts to take action against the illegal arrest of the editor-in-chief and demanded his immediate release and withdrawal of illegal cases against him.

They said Jang/Geo was being victimised for bringing truth to the fore and exposing government’s wrongdoings.

In Peshawar, the workers of Daily Jang, Geo News and The News continued their protest against the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman on Sunday.

The protesters gathered outside the offices of the media house were holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands and seeking an immediate release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman along with the withdrawal of the cases against him.

The speakers, including senior journalists Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Shah Zaman, Imdad Ali Qazalbash and others criticised the government. They said the rulers wanted to suppress the voice of independent media and opposition.

Instead of taking action and holding accountability of the people involved in the mega corruption scandals, they said, the government detained the head of a major media group in an over three decades-old property case for which all the legal requirements had been met. The protesters demanded immediate release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and withdrawal of cases against him.