Protests against Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s arrest continue in Lahore, Peshawar

LAHORE: Protests against the arrest of Jang Geo Media Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, organised by the workers of The News, Jang and Geo continued on Friday, reported The News.

The protesters criticised the government and said the rulers were trying to suppress the voice of the independent media by arresting MSR.

The protestors condemned the arrest of the senior journalist in a 34-year-old property case, saying the workers of the Jang Geo Group would continue to protest till his release.

Terming the arrest as an attack on the press, they said the powers that be are following anti-press and anti-media policies to stop them from highlighting the truth.

Shaheen Qureshi, human rights activist Abdullah Malik, Zaheer Anjum, Khizar Hayat Gondal, Zahid Ali Khan, Owais Qarni, Muhammad Farooq, Babar Waseem, Afzal Abbas and others were present in the protest, held outside the Jang building.

Protests against MSR’s arrest also continued in Peshawar

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands, the protesters demanded the immediate release of the editor-in-chief and withdrawal of cases against him. 

The protesters chanted slogans against the government for following in the footsteps of dictators in suppressing the voice of the independent media.

The PTI government, they said, was using NAB for political victimisation of opponents while remaining silent over other mega corruption scandals.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Arbab Khizer Hayat, who visited the camp to express solidarity with the workers of the Jang Group, condemned the government and NAB for the arrest.

Terming it an attack on the press, he said the government was using national institutions against its opponents, but they would not succeed. He posed a question as to why NAB was not taking action against people responsible for mega corruption scandals, including the Bus Rapid Transit project, Malam Jabba land scam, sugar and wheat flour crises.

He demanded the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and withdrawal of cases against him. Resident Editor Daily Jang Peshawar Arshad Aziz Malik also condemned the illegal arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in a three-decade-old property case.

He said it was the first case where an accused had been detained for more than two months without even investigations being conducted or a case being registered against them. 

Originally published in The News