Employees condemn move against Geo, Jang Group
Khalid Iqbal
RAWALPINDI: The employees of Daily Jang and The News staged a protest rally here on Monday to condemn move against the Geo network and stoppage of advertisements to Jang and The News. A large number of lawyers, religious scholars, civil society members and students participated in the rally and condemned government action against the Jang Group.
The protesters carried banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the government act and chanted anti-government slogans. Former president of High Court Bar Association Sardar Asmatullah Khan said that the Jang Group of companies should file contempt of court case against the cable operators’ strike because the operators have violated the Supreme Court orders. “I am ready to appear before the Supreme Court as witness against the cable operatorsÂ’ blackmailing”, he said while addressing the protest gathering. He said the government is strangulating the Jang Group of companies for exposing corruption at high places.
Former district court bar association president Toufiq Asif said that on November 3, 2007 a dictator put restrictions on the judiciary and the media and particularly targeted the Geo and Jang Group for speaking the truth. Now a civil dictatorship is doing the same. Allama Izhar Bukhari, chairman Aman Committee in his address said that 170 million people are with Jang Group. “We cannot forget the role played by the Jang Group in the struggle for democracy and independent judiciary”, he said.
Resident Manager of Daily Jang, Aziz Mohmand, in his address said that previously we were punished because we helped the lawyers in their struggle for the independence of judiciary and today were are being targeted for exposing corruption of the elected government. He said the prime minister should resign because his son is involved in corruption.
He said the government is using state machinery including information ministry, PID and Pemra against the Jang Group. Geo Super got the exclusive rights to telecast the cricket world cup by paying Rs1 billion but the government is pressuring the cable operators to go on strike to deprive people of world cup matches.
Senior magazine editor Farooq Aqdas regretted that the present government is following the rules and regulations of former government and is trying to stifle the Jang Group. “There is a conspiracy to weaken this group. We have faced hardship in the past and are facing hardship today but we will not succumb to pressure or blackmail,” he said.
Others who spoke on the occasion included district bar association president Malik Jawad Khalid, general secretary Sardar Manzar Bashir, joint secretary Yasar Chatta, member executive Abdul Qayum Rana, Mudasir Naseem, High Court Bar Association general secretary Malik Saeed, member executive Ilmas Shah, Ansar Minhas, President Muslim Student Federation (MSF) Maqbool Ahmed Khan, MSF Anwar Bhatti, Naeem Pasha, civil society leader Azhar Mir, general secretary The News Malik Tahir, Shia Ulema Council president Allama Ashfaq Wahidi, general secretary (JUI) Maulana Memood-ul-Hasan, daily Jang magazine editor Rana Ghulam Qadir, Nayyar Rizvi, Shakil Awan, Amjad Abbasi and Asghar Ali Mubarak.
Source: The News
Date:3/22/2011
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