ISLAMABAD: The\ncontinuing countrywide protests by workers of the Geo-Jang Group along with\njournalist organizations, civil society and political workers for the release\nof Editor-in-Chief of Geo-Jang Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman under arrest by the\nNAB for the last two months without a reference or a case, continued on Monday.\nThe protesting journalists dubbed Rahman’s incarceration as part of the current\ngovernment’s campaign to gag the freedom of expression and independent media’s\ndissenting voice and its right to question the government’s viewpoint as the\nonly shade of truth. Rahman is facing incarceration for refusing to subdue his\ngroup’s editorial policy to that demanded by the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the protesters’\ncamps, the workers of Geo-Jang Group also raised slogans for the release of\nEditor-in-Chief of Geo and Jang Group Shakil-ur-Rahman and condemned the curbs\non the freedom of media and independence of expression. They pledged to resist\nthe government’s plot against the free press and to continue with their protest\nmovement till his release. Addressing the protest outside the offices of Jang\nand The News at the Murree Road in Rawalpindi, speakers called for release of\nEditor-in-Chief of Geo and Jang Group Shakil-ur-Rahman and termed the NAB laws\nas black, enacted to strong arm those who stand up and oppose the government.\nThey also pledged to continue their protest till Rahman is released\nunconditionally. Secretary General Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ)\nNasir Zaidi said the struggle of the journalists and workers of the Geo and\nJang Group will succeed and Editor-in-Chief will be released soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor Jang\nRawalpindi Hanif Khalid appealed to the Chief Justice Supreme Court to take\nnotice of long unlawful arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman. Chief Reporter Jang\nRawalpindi Rana Ghulam Qadir said the \u201cEditor-in-Chief of Geo and Jang Group\nwill never bow down before the illegal demands of the government,\u201d he said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secretary General\nRIUJ and senior correspondent of the Geo News Asif Ali Bhatti, media workers\nAmjad Abbassi, Munir Shah, Nusrat Malik and others demanded honourable release\nof Editor-in-Chief of Geo and Jang Group and pledged not to give up their\nprotests till his release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Karachi, the\nJang-Geo protesters were joined at their camp by a large cross-section of\npolitical workers, trade unionists, media and journalist organisation to\nexpress solidarity. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader and Rajput Council\nof Pakistan President Rana Muhammad Ehsan said that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was\nfighting for the right to information and is the standard bearer of truth in\nthe whole country and we like the rest of the country are thankful to him for\nhis services to the independent media. Condemning the malicious campaign against\nthe Jang-Geo Group, Ehsan said that Prime Minister Imran should be indebted to\nthe coronavirus as it brought an extension to his government whose days were\nalready numbered. He said that his party stands with the journalists and\nsupport free press because they are necessary for a democratic society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PML-N leader Rana\nTariq said that the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman spoke of the government\u2019s\nincompetency and its inclination to flout the law and Constitution to achieve\nits nefarious designs. He said that the government campaign to pressure\nJang-Geo Group have backfired. He demanded immediate release of Mir\nShakil-ur-Rahman and referred to the global concerns over his attack, which has\nbeen symbolised as an attack on the media freedom in Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chairman Karachi\nHockey Association ( KHA) and National Bank Officers Association Gulfaraz Khan\nsaid that independent media was a reflection of a democratic society and strong\nand independent institutions. But on the contrary, he said the independent\nmedia is on the receiving end ever since this government was formed. KHA\u2019s\nsenior vice-president Dr Majid said that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was a staunch\nadvocate of truth and right and he should be released and allow him to contest\nthe allegations against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KHA Secretary Haider\nHussain said that the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was an attack on the\nindependent media. He demanded the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo-moto\naction over it and ensure a free and fair conclusion of this case. Others who\nspoke to the demonstration included All Pakistan Newspapers Employees\nConfederation\u2019s Secretary General Shakil Yamin Kanga, Javed Press Union\u2019s\ngeneral secretary Rana Yusuf and The News Employees Union\u2019s general secretary\nDara Zafar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Lahore, the\nJang-Geo workers and representatives of the civil society and political\nentities protesting against the illegal arrest of Jang\/Geo Editor-in-Chief\ndemanded the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of this illegal\narrest. The speakers condemned the government for continuing intimidation of\nindependent media houses by choking their revenue streams and dictating their\neditorial policies. They said Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman is paying the price for\nrefusing to fire news anchors and reporters as being dictated by the PTI government\nand resisting financial pressures to toe the dotted line. The speakers demanded\nimmediate release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and pledged to continue their\nstruggle for his unconditional release and for the freedom and independence of\nexpression and thought. The speakers included Editor Jang Group Shaheen\nQureshi, Spokesman PPP Lahore Waheed Alamgir, Abdullah Malik, Chief Reporter\nJang Lahore Maqsood Butt, Khizar Hayat Gondal, Zaheer Anjum, Sher Ali and Asif\nMahmood Butt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Multan, the\nPunjab Chemist Association joined the two-month-long campaign against the\nunlawful arrest of Jang\/Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman by the\nworkers of the dailies The News, Jang and Geo News and demanded his immediate\nrelease. A large number of traders from the Multan Medicine Market expressed\nsolidarity with the protesting journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the media\nworkers, divisional president, the Punjab Chemist Association, Akhtar Butt\nstrongly criticised the government\u2019s coercive practices against the Jang Group.\nHe said that it was surprising that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was held in an\nundisputed 34-year old business transaction but it does prove the\nNAB-government axis against free media, opposition and those rivaling the PTI\ntop leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Butt said that the\ngovernment was trying to curb the free press in the country, which was not a\ngood omen for democracy. He also criticised the suspension of Jang Group\nadvertisements and payment of its arrears running into billions to force it to\nhumble before the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traders\u2019\nrepresentative Faisal Rahman said that the free press could help the government\nrescue the public from problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Peshawar, the\nworkers of the Jang-Geo Group continued their 60th day of protest with speeches\nand by displaying banners and raising slogans for an early and unconditional\nrelease of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and withdrawal of fabricated cases against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jamiat Ahle\nHadith leader, Dr Zakir Shah, visited the camp to express solidarity with the\nprotesting workers of the Jang Group. He condemned the arrest of Mir\nShakil-ur-Rahman, saying he was arrested without a reference or a case. Terming\nhis arrest as illegal and an injustice to the biggest media group, Dr Shah said\nthat the rulers wanted to suppress the voice of the independent media group. He\nsaid if the rulers were interested in accountability of the corrupt, they\nshould hold investigations into the mega scandals, including the Bus Rapid\nTransit, Malam Jabba land scam and the sugar and flour crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Zakir Shah\ndemanded the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and withdrawal of cases against\nhim. He extended his party\u2019s support to the Jang Group, saying they would\nsupport the media at every forum. Peshawar Press Club President Syed Bukhar\nShah also condemned the detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, who had been behind\nbars for the last 60 days. He said the rulers wanted to stifle the voice of the\nindependent media group, but they would be unable to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khyber Union of\nJournalists\u2019 former president Nisar Mehmud also condemned the arrest of Mir\nShakil in a 34-year old property case, saying these pressure tactics could not\nmuzzle their urge to tell the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newspaper: The News<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: The continuing countrywide protests by workers of the Geo-Jang Group along with journalist organizations, civil society and political workers for the release of Editor-in-Chief of Geo-Jang Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman under arrest by the NAB for the last two months without a reference or a case, continued on Monday. The protesting journalists dubbed Rahman’s incarceration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[4],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanfoemonitor.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8989"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanfoemonitor.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanfoemonitor.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanfoemonitor.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanfoemonitor.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanfoemonitor.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8989\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanfoemonitor.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanfoemonitor.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanfoemonitor.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}