Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s bail plea hearing adjourned till June 22

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of a bail petition of Jang/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in a 34-year-old land property case till June 22.

Justice Aalia Neelum, head of the bench, noted that the bench received the files of the case late. Therefore, she observed that the bench will hear the matter after going through the files.

A previous bench that had been hearing the case earlier, had been dissolved due to the unavailability of one of its members. The court had already sought a reply from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the petition.

MSR’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz told the court that currently, his client is on judicial remand. However, he pointed out that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s elder brother died while he was in NAB custody and his 94-year-old mother is seriously ill, the court should hear the case soon, the lawyer pleaded.

After hearing the arguments, the court adjourned the hearing till June 22.

Read also: UN officials seek govt guarantee for fair trial, explanation on MSR's arrest

Arrest on trumped-up charges

MSR was arrested by NAB on March 12 on trumped-up charges relating to property purchased more than three decades ago. A petition was filed shortly afterwards against the arrest.

An accountability court had then extended his physical remand, after which a separate petition was filed against the extension. The petition had argued that no reason was provided by the court for the extension in remand.

The original petition, filed by MSR’s wife Shahina Shakil, had stated that MSR had been cooperating with officials and the arrest was a flagrant violation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the accountability watchdog.

The petition had requested that the court declare the arrest and abuse of the NAB chairman's authority, as the arrest was made while the case was still in the process of verification.

'NAB violated policy by arresting MSR'

The petition further argued that NAB had violated the 2019 businessmen policy introduced by the Government of Pakistan by arresting MSR. It further said that the extension in remand of MSR by the accountability court hearing the case should be declared null and void, along with the decision to arrest him.

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.

However, the petitions challenging the arrests were turned down, prompting outrage from those who have been following the case.

MSR's arrest has been slammed both locally and internationally as an attempt by a heavy-handed regime to suppress dissent and the freedom of speech.

Originally published in The News