Protest for Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s release continues

LAHORE/PESHAWAR/KARACHI: Journalists, civil society members, office-bearers of media unions and trade union of Jang Group on Saturday continued their protest against the arrest of Jang/Geo Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman for the 210th consecutive day. Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman has been detained for 232 days under the NAB custody over a 35-year-old property exchange matter without giving any proof of charges or making any progress in investigations.

Staging a demonstration outside Jang offices, the protesters criticized Prime Minister Imran Khan for backing out on his 20-year claim to turn Pakistan into a Madina-like state, alleging that he used the slogan only to hoodwink people and win elections through media support. Imran Khan, they said, has been victimizing Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman for exposing the corruption and bad governance of the PTI government. They lamented that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was detained despite the fact that no progress was made either in investigations into the corruption charges of 35 years old property exchange case nor any formal case was registered. The participants termed it a blatant attack on media freedom and a conspiracy to close down the country’s largest media group. They chanted slogans against the fascist PTI regime and condemned using the NAB for media’s arm-twisting.

They demanded that the chief justice of Pakistan take a suo motu action against this gross injustice which is a direct attack on the freedom of expression and liberty of media. They demanded immediate release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and threatened to launch an anti-government movement across the country if he is not released.

The participants in the protest included Secretary General Jang Workers Union Farooq Awan, News Editor of Pakistan Times, Zaheer Anjum, senior journalists Awais Qarni, Shafiq Ahmad, Munawwar Hussain, Shamsi Baloch, M Akbar, Ayesha Akram, Romeo Jalib, Aziz Sheikh, Shahid Aziz, Muhammad Ali, Akmal Bhatti, Afzal Abbas, Zahid Mehmood, Shahzad Rauf and others.

Meanwhile, the media workers in Peshawar continued protest against the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and demanded his release.

The newly-elected President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Abdul Latif Afridi, joined the protest to express solidarity with the Jang Group. The protesters were carrying banners and placards as they converged on the lawn outside the offices of daily Jang, The News and Geo TV. They chanted slogans against the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and the bids to strangle media freedom. Abdul Latif Afridi, Peshawar Press Club President Syed Bukhar Shah, Arshad Aziz Malik, Farmanullah Jan, Shakeel Farman Ali, Ehtesham Toru, Sabz Ali Shah, Ansar Abbas, Gohar Ali, Qaiser Khan and others spoke on the occasion. They slammed the PTI government for victimising the Jang Group and Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, employing various tactics to bring the largest media group of the country under pressure.

They criticised the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for pressuring the opposition political parties and free media while remaining silent over the mega corruption scams linked to the ruling party members.

In Karachi, the political leaders and journalists have said that Jang-Geo Group was being punished for promoting truth and projecting the real picture of the country.

They were speaking at the hunger strike camp organised by the Jang Geo Action Committee for the release of Editor-in-Chief of Jang-Geo Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman on Saturday outside the Jang-Geo offices.

Speaking to the protest camp, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz's Sindh vice president Iqbal Khaksar, demanded the immediate release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman from prison and called for a collective struggle by all sections of the society. He said that the government was playing a dangerous game by putting its critics in jail. The protest camp, which has been going on for the past seven months since the arrest of Mir Shakil by the National Accountability Bureau in a fabricated case was attended by journalists, civil society and trade union leaders.

Others who spoke at the protesters camp, included All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation Secretary General Shakil Yamin Kanga, Qaumi Akhar’s senior journalist Syed Hasan Shah Jaffery, The News Employees Union's general secretary Dara Zafar, senior journalist Haider Shaikh, and Javed Press Union's leader Rana Yousuf.