Staff Reporter
“ The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) strongly condemns the arrest of Editor-in-Chief of Geo and Jang Group and former President of APNS, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman by the NAB authorities in a 34 year old private property case.
Mr. Hameed Haroon, President and Mr. Sarmad Ali, Secretary General, APNS have stated that the arrest of the Chairman and the Chief Editor of the leading media house, was a clear indication that the present government has moved forward in its attempt to silence the independent media in the country. This action not only highlights the unlawful and high handed methods of the NAB authorities who arrested Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman at the initial complaint verification stage of the case when he was regularly attending the hearings at NAB, Lahore.
The APNS Office Bearers noted with concern that earlier a complete ban on advertisements of the Federal and provincial governments of Punjab and KPK was imposed on the leading media houses of Jang and Dawn but the stoppage of ads by the government had failed to deliver the desired results. The Government thereupon used NAB to arrest the Chairman of Jang media house. This arrest is a clear signal to the media across the country that no voice of dissent will be tolerated during the tenure of PTI Government. The history of all authoritarian regimes indicates that ineffective governments instead of improving their governance frequently fall back on silencing the public opinion, by stifling the media. The APNS is of the considered opinion that the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman is a severe blow to the Freedom of Press and Expression and it will be widely condemned by media and human rights organizations. The APNS strongly urges the political, social and democratic forces in the country to raise their own voices of dissent to safeguard and protect Freedom of the Press and civil liberties.
The Office Bearers has appealed the Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of the action against a free press in Pakistan to safeguard the Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
