LAHORE: Protests against an unlawful ban on the Geo TV network across the country and an attack on senior anchorperson Hamid Mir continued here on Wednesday on the Davis Road outside the Jang/Geo offices in which a large number of people from various segments of life including lawyers, journalists, leaders of labrour unions and workers of political and religious parties participated.
Among the prominent who attended the demonstration included PML-N Parliamentary Secretary Rana Muhammad Arshad, Pakistan Justice Party Chairman Advocate Mansab Awan, Civil Society Network Pakistan President Abdullah Malik, senior journalists Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Maqsood Butt, Bedar Bakht Butt, Sadia Sharif, Ameen Hafiz, Jang Workers Union President Rukhsana Nazli, Fakhira Tehreem, Imdad Qureshi, Advocate Noor Sarfraz, Muhammad Yasin, general secretary of Jang Workers Union, Waseem Babar, Zahid Rafique Bhatti, Sabir Awan, Zahid Ali Khan, Ijaz Manzoor, Ijaz Mirza, Farooq Chohan, Naseer Baig, Azhar Maqbool, Sadia Aziz, Huma Mir Hassan, Naveed Aslam, Sohail Butt, Muneer Khokhar, Shafqat Imran, Asim Naseer, Waheed Butt and Adnan Malik.
A large number of women along with their children while carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans in favour of the Geo/Jang Group and Hamid Mir attended the demonstration.
Addressing the participants, speakers including Rana Muhammad Arshad, Advocate Mansab Awan and Abdullah Malik said the U-Turn Khan, an indirect reference to PTI Chairman Imran Khan, was betraying the largest media house of the country, adding that people would make him accountable for his baseless allegations against the owner of the Geo/Jang Group. They said some people, who were thinking to curtail the independent media, would eat dust at the end as people had become much more aware than in the past about their rights and independence. They also condemned conspiracies being hatched to involve the media groups in an internal fight.
Muhammad Yasin said that the Geo/Jang Group could not be banned as it consisted of the most favourite newspapers and TV channels of the country. He said the whole civil society of the country was with the Geo/Jang Group and would not tolerate any action against the largest media house.
Maqsood Butt said culprits, who attacked Hamid Mir, were still at large, which was a sign of serious concern for the whole journalists community. He said all conspiracies against the Geo/Jang Group would be foiled with the collective effort of the workers and the journalists community.