Demand renewed for release of Editor-in-Chief

PESHAWAR: The journalists on Friday renewed the demand for the release of the Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman as they continued the protest against his arrest here on Saturday.

Carrying banners and placards, they gathered outside the offices of the Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV to register anger at the detention. Peshawar Press Club Chairman Syed Bukhar Shah led the protest, being staged regularly since the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman on March 12 of this year. Syed Bukhar Shah, Shakeel Farman Ali, Ehtesham Toru, Qaiser Khan, Shah Zaman and others spoke on the occasion. They condemned the incarceration of the head of the largest media group of the country for the last over seven months. The speakers were critical of PTI government for victimising the Jang Media Group and its chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in a bid to force them to go pliant. The speakers deplored that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had been behind bars for the last 220 days in a case, which was over three decades-old. They said the NAB was biased and accused the anti-graft body of targeting the opposition political parties and the independent media allegedly at the best of the govt. The speakers pointed out that the NAB did not take any notice of the massive corruption scandals such as wheat flour, sugar, Malam Jabba land, Billion Tree Tsunami and Bus Rapid Transit Project despite the fact that these were no longer a secret.