Demand made for release of Editor-in-Chief

PESHAWAR: Journalists on Friday continued the protest against the arrest of the Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and called for his release forthwith.

The protesters converged on the lawn outside the offices of Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV in the Khyber Super Market to register anguish at the long incarceration of the Jang Group head. The protesters raised slogans against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for pursuing a hostile policy against the media.

Jang Resident Editor Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Farmanullah Jan, Sabz Ali Shah, Gohar Ali, Qaiser Khan, Imdad Ali Qazalbash, Shah Zaman, Sheeba Haider, Rahamdil and others spoke on the occasion.

The speakers flayed the PTI government for arresting Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman on cooked-up charges on March 12 and keeping him interned for the last 191 days. They said the Jang Group chief had been targeted and put under detention since then to gag the free media and stifle the bold voices. The protesters were critical of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and said it was biased in taking actions against the opposition parties and was after the free media. The speakers requested the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of the case and provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman who represented the biggest media group of the country.