Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman arrested to silence critical voice: PPP MNA

MINGORA: Criticising the arrest of Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and Member National Assembly Syed Agha Rafiullah on Sunday said that the government’s move was aimed at putting pressure on free media practices in the country.

Addressing a “Meet-the-Press” programme at the Swat Press Club, the PPP lawmaker said that the PTI-led federal government had failed to fulfil its promises, which it had made during its election campaign in 2018.

PPP Swat president Irfan Hayat Chattan and other party activists were also present on the occasion. “The government arrested the Editor-in-Chief of Jang group Mir Shakeel-Ur-Rahman to silence anti-government voice in media,” he added. He said that instead of promoting legislative norms in the parliament, the PTI government had been encouraging abusive language in the house, adding that PPP believed in constitutional roles of each institution in the country. The MNA, belonging to Sindh province, said that the leadership of PTI did not believe in the norms of democracy as Prime Minister Imran Khan was acting like a dictator.

Agha Rafiullah urged the public to support the pro-democratic voices in the country for the greater interest of the state and the nation. “The country’s affairs are nowadays being controlled by a class that has always harmed democracy,” he added. The PPP leader also questioned the so-called accountability process in the country. “The National Accountability Bureau is being used as a tool to victimise the opposition leaders,” he said, adding, corruption had increased during the PTI government but no action was being taken against the people concerned.

Agha Rafiullah said the government had failed on all fronts. “The PTI leaders have failed to come up to the expectations,” he added.