NAB keeping Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman under detention without just cause, says JI chief Siraj-ul-Haq
Pakistanis not prepared to endorse detention of MSR and are calling for his release, says Haq
April 23, 2020
SARGODHA: Ameer Jamat-e-Islami Siraj-ul-Haq on Thursday said that the government had failed to prove that Jang-Geo Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakeel-ur-Rahman (MSR) had committed any crime.
"The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is keeping MSR under detention without just cause. Neither Pakistanis, nor international bodies, are prepared to endorse the detention," he said.
Also read: European journalists, rights body demand immediate release of Mir Shakeel-ur-Rahman
"People, both in the country and outside it, are together calling for the unconditional release of MSR. More than 40 days have passed since MSR was arrested, and no charges have been filed against him," Haq noted.
"Keeping MSR in jail without filing charges against him is a blatant injustice. The Jang-Geo Editor-in-Chief is being victimised as part of a personal vendetta against him," Haq added.
Also read: Accountability court extends remand of MSR until April 18
'Detention of MSR insult to free press'
"The detention of MSR under trumped-up charges is an insult to the free press all over the country," former Gilgit-Baltistan governor, Berjees Tahir, told the media in Gojra on Thursday.
"The government is trying to achieve something by keeping MSR in detention," he said. "Political sentences are for political prisoners and not for journalists," Tahir added.
Also read: Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rahman comments on MSR's arrest, says NAB laws flawed in light of Shariah
'All evidence provided to NAB'
NAB had on March 12 arrested MSR in connection with property allegedly bought illegally from a government entity more than three decades ago.
According to a Jang Group spokesperson, the property was in fact bought from a private party 34 years ago and all evidence of this was given to NAB and legal requirements fulfilled, such as duty and taxes.
MSR's arrest has been slammed both locally and internationally as the latest attempt by a heavy-handed regime to suppress dissent.
