Protest against arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman continues

PESHAWAR: The media persons on Wednesday continued their protest against the arrest of Daily Jang, Geo News and The News Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and demanded his immediate release.

They had banners and placards in their hands which were inscribed with various slogans which highlighted the demands. The protesters demanded the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman who had been under detention since March 12.

Daily Jang Resident Editor Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Shah Zaman, Imdad Ali Qazalbash, Qaisar Khan and others addressed the protesters on the occasion. The speakers said Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman headed the largest media group of the country but was being victimized due to the independent policy of his group. They said the Jang Group always promoted independent journalism in the country.

The protesters termed the arrest of the Jang Group head illegal, unconstitutional and an attack on the free media. They said the NAB had no authority to arrest a person in a three-decades-old property case as there was nothing wrong with that. The protesters said the government was pursuing a hostile media policy which was affecting the media houses and a large number of journalists associated with them. They said the government was not going after those involved in the big graft scandals but was targeting the independent media to force it into submission. The protesters requested the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of the case and provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.