Protest staged against arrest of Editor-in-Chief

PESHAWAR: The members of the journalist community on Friday staged a protest against the arrest of Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and called for his release.

The protesters gathered outside the offices of Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV to voice anger at the detention of the head of the largest media group of the country on cooked-up charges. They were carrying banners and placards. These had been inscribed with slogans which sought the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, behind bars for over seven months. Those who spoke on the occasion were Yousaf Ali, Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Farmanullah Jan, Salim Kashmiri, Gohar Ali, Ehtesham Toru, Amjad Safi, Qaiser Khan and others.

The speakers criticized Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government for targeting the Jang Media Group and its chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman to force them to fall in line. They lamented that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had been under detention for the last 219 days in a case which was 34 years old. The speakers were critical of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for going after the opposition political parties and the independent media and looking the other way when it came to the ruling party members.

They questioned the NAB impartiality and pointed out that the so-called anti-graft body had failed to take notice of massive corruption scandals such as wheat flour, sugar, Malam Jabba land, Billion Tree Tsunami and Bus Rapid Transit Project which. The speakers appealed to the apex court to intervene in the case and provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.