In a surprise, US State Department reacts over arrest of Jang Media Group CEO Mir Shakilur in Pakistan
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WASHINGTON:In a surprise, US State Department reacts over arrest of Jang Media Group CEO Mir Shakilur in Pakistan.
The US Department of State said it was concerned over the arrest of Jang Geo Media Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, who was detained by the NAB a day earlier in relation to a property he had purchased from a private party 34 years ago.
In a statement, Alice G. Wells, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), said the US foreign ministry has "noted with concern the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, the owner of a leading media company in #Pakistan".
link State_SCA ✔@State_SCA link link
We noted with concern the arrest of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, the owner of a leading media company in #Pakistan link. Press freedom, due process, and the rule of law are pillars of every democracy. AGW link link
"Press freedom, due process, and the rule of law are pillars of every democracy," Wells added. Curbs akin to fascist Modi's blackout in Kashmir
The government's attempts at restrictions on the Pakistani media seem to be akin to the complete communications and media blackout imposed on occupied Kashmir by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fascist administration.
The incumbent Pakistani government's replication of the Modi authoritarian model against local press for its fiercely independent journalistic ethics and neutrality would harm the country's reputation.
It will also have regional and worldwide consequences on the freedom of expression.
With Pakistan currently ranking at the 142nd position (out of 180 countries) on the RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index, the NAB's move to arrest Jang Geo Media Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman indicates how tolerance has deteriorated in the current government's tenure.
Further, the State Department's concern over MSR's arrest by the NAB comes after various local and global rights bodies, international media watchdogs, journalists, renowned publications around the world, and artists condemned the growing curbs on the Pakistani press.
