WASHINGTON:In a surprise, US State Department reacts over arrest of JangMedia Group CEO Mir Shakilur in Pakistan.
The US Department of State said it was concerned over the arrest of JangGeo Media Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, who was detained bythe NAB a day earlier in relation to a property he had purchased from aprivate party 34 years ago.
In a statement, Alice G. Wells, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at theState Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), saidthe US foreign ministry has “noted with concern the arrest of MirShakil-ur-Rehman, the owner of a leading media company in #Pakistan”.
linkState_SCA✔@State_SCAlinklink
We noted with concern the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, the owner of aleading media company in #Pakistanlink. Press freedom, dueprocess, and the rule of law are pillars of every democracy. AGWlinklink
link
“Press freedom, due process, and the rule of law are pillars of everydemocracy,” Wells added.Curbs akin to fascist Modi’s blackout in Kashmir
Read Top Stories
The government’s attempts at restrictions on the Pakistani media seem to beakin to the complete communications and media blackout imposed on occupiedKashmir by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fascist administration.
The incumbent Pakistani government’s replication of the Modi authoritarianmodel against local press for its fiercely independent journalistic ethicsand neutrality would harm the country’s reputation.
It will also have regional and worldwide consequences on the freedom ofexpression.
With Pakistan currently ranking at the 142nd position (out of 180countries) on the RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index, the NAB’s move toarrest Jang Geo Media Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman indicateshow tolerance has deteriorated in the current government’s tenure.
Further, the State Department’s concern over MSR’s arrest by the NAB comesafter various local and global rights bodies, international mediawatchdogs, journalists, renowned publications around the world, and artistscondemned the growing curbs on the Pakistani press.
