LAHORE/RAWALPINDI/PESHAWAR: The journalists and workers of Jang-Geo Group on Tuesday continued their countrywide protests against the illegal and unjustified detention of Editor-in-Chief of the group, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, while demanding his release saying that the free media could not be deterred by imprisonment and other coercive actions to harass newsmen and anchors, impeding circulation of the dailies Jang and The News and trying to curtail the Geo News viewership.
In Rawalpindi, on the 179th day of demonstration by the workers of Jang-Geo Group, outside the offices of the dailies Jang and The News, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists, representatives of civil society and politicians joined together against the illegal and unjust arrest of Editor-in-Chief. The protestors chanted slogans and carried placards demanding his release and for stopping the concerted campaign against the independent media.
The protest was participated by Secretary General PFUJ Nasir Zaidi, Chairman Joint Action Committee of workers of Jang-Geo Group Islamabad and President Jang Workers union Rawalpindi Nasir Chisti, Resident Editor Jang Rawalpindi Hanif Khalid, Chief Reporter Jang Rawalpindi Rana Ghulam Qadir, Secretary General RIUJ Asif Ali Bhatti, Secretary General Jang Workers Union Rawalpindi Khalid Mehmood and others.
They speakers said that the Movement for Justice for the Editor-in-Chief will continue till he gets justice, while adding they are struggling for the constitutional rights of the freedom of media in the country.
In Lahore, journalists, civil society members, office-bearers of media unions and Jang Workers Union condemned the PTI government for keeping the editor-in-chief unlawfully detained in a fabricated case by the NAB. While staging a demonstration outside the Jang offices at the protest camp of Jang, Geo and The News employees, they lamented that while Prime Minister Imran Khan endlessly claims to turn Pakistan into a Madina-like state, but strangely he is victimising Mir Shakil for exposing the corruption and bad governance of the PTI regime. They termed it a blatant attack on media freedom, shouted slogans against the PTI government and condemned the anti-media tactics of the NAB.
Those who participated in the protest included Jang Workers Union Secretary General Farooq Malik, Pakistan Times News Editor Zaheer Anjum, Muhammad Shafiq, Awais Qarni, Ms Ayesha Akram, Ms Rifat, Aziz Sheikh, Muhammad Irshad, Munawwar Hussain, Shahid Aziz, Muhammad Naeem, Muhammad Ali, Hafiz Asad, Akmal Bhatti, Afzal Abbas, Mushtaq and others.
Similarly in Peshawar, the members of the journalist community while holding banners and placards and raising slogans protested outside the offices of Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV in the Khyber Super Market on Stadium Road. The banners were inscribed with slogans flaying the PTI government for detaining Mir Shakil and called for his release. Daily Jang Resident Editor Arshad Aziz Malik, Geo News Bureau Chief Shakeel Farman Ali, Sabz Ali Shah, Farmanullah Jan, Ihtesham Toru, Qaiser Khan, Gohar Ali and others spoke on the occasion.
The speakers said the government was targeting the Jang Media Group as part of personal vendetta. They said the editor-in-chief is behind the bars for refusing to toe the government guidelines for covering up bad governance, inflation and corrupt practices of the government.
