Detention of Editor-in-Chief protested

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

Having banners and placards, they gathered outside the offices of the Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV to express anguish at the incarceration of the head of the largest media group of the country. The protesters raised slogans against the detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and the revengeful actions by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government against the Jang Media Group. Arshad Aziz Malik, Shakeel Farman Ali, Farmanullah Jan, Rasool Dawar and others spoke on the occasion. The speakers criticised the PTI government for targeting the Jang Media Group and Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman as a punishment for pursuing independent journalism.They expressed concern over the detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman for the last 241 days on false charges. The speakers came down hard on the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for victimising the political parties and free media houses at the behest of the rulers.

They said the so-called anti-graft watchdog was biased as it 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 because the PTI members were allegedly behind such tainted practices. The speakers requested the highest court of the land to provide justice to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman who had been interned since March 12 and even denied a bail.