Protest continues against Editor-in-Chief arrest

PESHAWAR: The media workers on Wednesday continued the protest against the arrest of Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and demanded his release.

Carrying banners and placards, they gathered outside the offices of the Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV to register the protest. The protesters raised slogans against the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman since March 12 of this year and in support of the media freedom which they said was under threat. Farmanullah Jan, Ehtesham Toru, Shakeel Farman Ali, Sabz Ali Shah, Ansar Abbas, Gohar Ali and others spoke on the occasion. The speakers criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for targeting the Jang Media Group and its chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.

They deplored that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman had been behind bars for the last 231 days in a case which was based on cooked-up charges. The speakers were critical of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for going after the opposition political parties and the independent media and thus becoming a tool in the hands of the government. They slammed the NAB for ignoring the massive corruption scandals such as wheat flour, sugar, Malam Jabba land, Billion Tree Tsunami and Bus Rapid Transit Project as those in the PTI were allegedly linked to these tainted practices. The protesters appealed to the apex court to take notice of the case and provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.