Call for release of Editor-in-Chief renewed

PESHAWAR: The journalists continued the protest against the arrest of the Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman on Sunday and renewed the call for his immediate release.

They assembled outside the offices of Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV to register their anger at the arrest of the head of the largest media group of the country who had been under detention since March 12 of this year. Carrying banners and placards, they chanted slogans against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Sabz Ali Shah, Farmanullah Jan, Ihtesham Toru, Gohar Ali, Qaiser Khan, Imdad Ali Qazalbash and others spoke on the occasion. The speakers slammed the rulers for arresting Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman on cooked-up charges. They deplored that pressure tactics were being employed against the Jang Media Group to punish it for promoting independent journalism. Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had been interned for the last 207 days and had been denied the right to bail which was a source of grave concern, they added.

The speakers criticised the PTI government for the anti-media policy. They said the voice of the independent media houses was being gagged and Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had been arrested to send a warning to other free media organisations. They also came down hard on NAB for going after the opposition political parties and looking the other way when it came to the tainted government figures.

The speakers said the NAB had failed to move against the PTI members who were allegedly involved in the corrupt practices. They pointed out that the so-called anti-graft watchdog was not taking any action over the massive scandals such as wheat flour, sugar crises, Malam Jabba land, Billion Tree Tsunami and Bus Rapid Transit. The protesters appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of the case and provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman who was being victimised for the independent policy of his media group.