The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Mir Shakeel-ur-Rehman – the editor-in-chief of the Jang Group that includes Urdu daily Jang, English daily, The News International newspapers and the Geo television network – over a land lease transaction dating back to 1986. He is accused of securing illegal concessions in the purchase of plots in the eastern city of Lahore. A corruption-related issue was propagated by the paid journalists as an attack on Press. GEO/Jang group is facing the heat already because their CEO had been refusing to pay monthly salaries to its employees/contractors. Jang group employees, especially the lower category of staff has been agitating on this issue. However, a section of media which does not wean off criticizing the government and the institutions are propagating against his arrest. Some organizations also support Geo group because of its clout with the international media and international establishment.
“Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau should immediately release Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman and drop the obviously drummed-up case against him,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “This arrest over a 34-year-old land deal makes a mockery of Pakistan’s claim to be a democracy that upholds freedom of the press.” The question is why action could not be taken against those involved in illegal transactions when previous governments had turned a blind eye to the corruption of politicians and others who were responsible for causing colossal losses to the government? On April 18, 2018, the chief executive of Geo and Jang group had failed to appear before the apex court after being repeatedly summoned. A three-judge bench, headed by the then chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, was hearing a case related to non-payment of salaries by the media organisation. Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman was summoned after failing to appear before the bench.
Top court had summoned Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman over nonpayment of salaries to Geo employees. The then CJP had said: “Court absence only shows Mir Shakil’s arrogance. One should follow some conduct while criticising,” the then CJP had said. Earlier, the top judge had ordered the media group to dispense salaries to all its employees by April 30. The bench had asked the media house to pay the salaries even if it has to “beg or borrow”. During the hearing, the chief justice had asked senior journalist and anchorperson Hamid Mir how much salary he was getting from the group. The latter avoided answering the question but admitted that he too did not receive his salary for the last three months. To which the chief justice, in a lighter vein, asked how Mir would run his Mercedes if he iswas not paid his salary. “Beg or borrow, but pay your staff, CJP had told Geo”.
Justice Nisar had further remarked that the group is giving a hefty amount to anchorpersons but next to nothing to its reporters, who he added were the assets of an organisation. Anchors run their shows on the input by reporters, said the CJP and asked Hamid Mir to raise voice for the rights of reporters who work for as less as Rs.12,000 a month. GEO Network had been trying to garner international support for pressurizing government of Pakistan to forgive and forget its aberrations and act of defaming the military and the ISI. At that time, a meeting between Mir Shakeel-ur-Rehman and US Congressmen of Indian lobby was arranged in USA by Hussain Haqqani, a person with dubious credentials. Such confluence is reflective of converging interests of anti-Pakistan forces at national and international level using GEO network.
Those supporting the Geo were among others Indian hawkish leadership alongside international establishment, which self-proclaimed proponents of free media like Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters without Borders, EU Trade Commission and International Federation of Journalists. Do they have any interest to see a strong and stable Pakistan? Certainly not. It is time now to stand united against all foreign-funded and foreign-sponsored anti-Pak forces. There is a strong perception that Geo has been acting as a compliant tool of foreign forces working to weaken the government and state institutions of Pakistan.