Int'l media slam growing curbs on Pakistani press after Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman's arrest

Internationally renowned publications such as The New York Times and Al-Jazeera have raised questions over the prime minister's impatience with the Jang Group's coverage following the arrest of its editor-in-chief. 

A day after Editor-in-Chief of the Jang Geo Media Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was arrested by NAB in connection with property allegedly bought illegally from a government entity in 1986, the international media turned its attention to the government's record of muzzling Pakistani media and silencing its voice.

"The owner, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, is one of Pakistan’s most influential media figures, and his company, the Jang Media Group, has run afoul of successive governments. But the current prime minister, Imran Khan, has shown particular impatience with its coverage," noted The New York Times.

"Pakistan has long been considered one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. Journalists for years have described an atmosphere of pressure and intimidation," it stated.

The NYT stated that Prime Minister Imran Khan "has been particularly rankled" by the Jang Group's coverage of the 2018 general elections and has accused the media group of being former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's ally.

Similarly, Al-Jazeera reported on the growing censorship and attacks on media by the incumbent government in its news story on MSR's arrest. "Pakistani media have been subjected to growing censorship and pressure following the election of Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2018," it stated.

Mentioning the government's recent measures to regulate social media in Pakistan, Al-Jazeera stated that "mainstream media houses have decried pressure from authorities that they say has resulted in widespread self-censorship."

"Last year, a global watchdog criticised the government for "brazen censorship" of the media after three news channels were taken off air for covering an opposition news conference," it said.

The head of the Reporters without Borders (RSF) Asia-Pacific group said that MSR's arrest "has no legal basis and is clearly an act of harassment designed to bring the Jang media group into line."

"The Pakistani authorities are displaying appalling creativity in their attempts to intimidate journalists who try to work in a completely independent manner," he stated.

The RSF also mentioned an interview of former president Asif Ali Zardari by Capital Talk host Hamid Mir, which was taken off-air in mid broadcast.

"The Pakistani authorities have made every effort in the past to restrict what the Jang group’s media outlets publish. In July 2019, for example, a Geo News current affairs programme was disconnected in mid-broadcast during an interview with former President Asif Ali Zardari," he wrote.