Senators raise issue in Senate body meeting

ISLAMABAD: The issues of illegal arrest of the Editor in Chief Geo and Jang Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman were discussed in meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Wednesday.

The meeting was chaired by its Chairman Senator Faisal Javed which was held in Parliament House. Senator Pervaiz Rasheed, while raising issue of detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, said that the Editor in Chief Geo and Jang Group has been under custody of government for last six months without any proof. He said that who would be held accountable for his six months illegal detention when he was released tomorrow. He reminded the speeches of Prime Minister Imran Khan in which he said that he would send Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman to jail if he came to power. Pervaiz Rasheed said that standing committee should raise its voice for the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman.

Senator Faisal Javed said that prime minister has nothing to do with the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman as it is the issue of NAB. He said that voice should be raised for the justice.

Pervaiz Rasheed said that Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman has been under custody for six months without any charge and said that there were three reasons for the keeping anyone under detention – first the accused can make change in record and second can abolish evidences and third he can flee abroad and now possibilities of all these reasons regarding arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman have come to an end. He said that those who arrested Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman have possessed everything and now Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman could not make any change in record, neither he could abolish evidences nor he flees abroad. He said that the global institutions’ reports revealed that human rights are not being protected in Pakistan.

Pervaiz Rasheed said that Minister of Railways Shaikh Rashid said before Eid that he had talked about the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman with prime minister and if PM has nothing to do with arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman then why Shaikh Rashid talked to PM on Editor In-Chief of Jang Group’s release.

Pervaiz Rasheed said that another federal minister said that case against Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman is weak. He said that due to these statements of ministers the stand becomes so strong that it will not be appropriate to keep Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman under illegal detention. He said that this issue has come under the domain of standing committee of Information, therefore, formal voice should be raised for the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman.

Meanwhile, Sirajul Haq strongly condemned continuous arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman the Editor in Chief Geo and Jang Group without any proof. Such acts, he said reminds of bitter memories of martial law regimes.

Sirajul Haq came down hard on the so-called anti-corruption drive, saying the NAB became a tool of victimisation, disappointing the people whom the PTI had pledged to introduce a powerful, transparent and across the board accountability.