For release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman: Jang-Geo workers’ protest goes on

RAWALPINDI: The journalists and workers of the Geo and Jang Group continued their demonstration against the illegal arrest of their Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in a 34-year old private business transaction and pinned hopes on the Supreme Court of Pakistan for justice.

The countrywide demonstration of workers of Geo and Jang Group along with the Federal Union of Journalists, representatives of the civil society has been going on for the last 213 days.

At the protest camp outside the offices of Jang and The News in Rawalpindi, the protesters chanted slogans carrying banners for the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.

Addressing the protest camp, Secretary General Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Nasir Zaidi said the workers of Geo and Jang Group always lead the struggle for the freedom of media from the front. He said the workers of Geo and Jang Group, along with the journalists and national and international human rights organisations, are raising their voice for the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.

Chairman Joint Action Committee of workers of Geo and Jang Group Islamabad and President Jang Workers Union Rawalpindi Nasir Chisti said whenever the conspiracies against the Geo and Jang Group were hatched, the workers foiled these with their unity.

Chief reporter Jang Rawalpindi Rana Ghulam Qadir said the people of Pakistan have always trusted Geo and Jang Group for getting independent news and that was reason that they always stood with the group.

Worker of the Jang Group Amjad Abbassi said that the workers of Geo and Jang Group stood united to foil all the conspiracies against the group.

The workers of Jang Group Munir Shah, Malik Nusrat, Kamal Shah, Naseerul Haq, Azhar Sulatn, Aslam Butt, Athar Naqvi, Khalid Mehmood and other social and political workers besides the workers of Jang and The News expressed their determination to continue their struggle till the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and vowed to foil the conspiracies against the Geo and Jang Group.

Similarly in Karachi, finance secretary of the Karachi Union of Journalists, Javed Qureshi, said the government has proved through the long and unjust detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman that it has zero tolerance for anything that goes against its will. He was addressing the protest by workers of The News, Jang and Geo News for the release of Group’s Editor-In-Chief.

Qureshi warned the government against concocting cases against the innocent, saying this draconian policy will backfire and ultimately all those responsible for flouting the Constitution and violating the basic human rights will be held accountable. He demanded immediate release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman from prison and remarked that this so-called democratic government was worse than the dictatorships this country had.

He added that this government was bent on destroying the industries and collapsing the economy. Others who spoke at the demonstration included All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation’s Secretary General Shakil Yamin Kanga, The News Employees Union’s General Secretary Dara Zafar, Association of Camera Journalists’ General Secretary Farhan Ilyas and APNEC Karachi vice chairman Rana Yusuf.