Pakistani court acquits media mogul of corruption case | Press Freedom News

Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman was arrested on charges of corruption in a real estate deal involving the purchase of land.

Islamabad, Pakistan – A Pakistani court acquitted the owner and editor-in-chief of the country’s largest independent news conglomerate in 1986 in connection with an alleged violation of a real estate purchase in the eastern city of Lahore.

Authorities arrested Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman in 2020 with his alleged political leader Nawaz Sharif, a three-time prime minister in Punjab province at the time, after being accused of commissioning to buy land illegally. He was released on bail by the Supreme Court in November 2020 after eight months in prison.

Rehman’s Jang news group, which includes the popular Geo News television channel, the Urdu-language Jang newspaper and the English newspaper The News, has been critical of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government and has suffered disruptions and other forms of censorship since Khan’s arrival. power.

The Lahore anti-corruption court acquitted him of all charges on Monday, Muaaz Ahsan, chief executive of Geo News, told Al Jazeera. He denies all charges against her.

He is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world to work as a Pakistani journalist, and by 2021 he was ranked 145th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index by Media Rights Reporter (RSF).

“The Pakistani media, which has a long tradition of being very lively, has become a priority for the country’s ‘deep state’, a euphemism for military and service intelligence (ISI), the leading military intelligence agency, and its high level of control over the civilian executive,” he said. RSF in Pakistan’s country profile.

“The impact of this military ‘establishment’, which cannot stand independent journalism, has increased dramatically since Imran Khan became Prime Minister in July 2018.”

‘A side of the political arena’

In 2019, an Al Jazeera investigation found this Pakistani journalists intensified censorshipincluding harassment, pressure on news outlets, and an unannounced TV signal or newspaper disruption since Khan came to power.

In May 2021, Rehman’s Geo News suspended the famous anchor of Hamid Mir TV news for organizing its nightly news discussion after making statements about the country’s powerful army, which has ruled the country directly for about half of its history.

Mir made remarks in a protest against the attack on another Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor, also known for his critical views of the government and the army.

Sharif has been Khan’s main political rival and head of the PML-N political party The focus of Khan’s anti-corruption workWhich was launched in 2018 after being brought to power in the elections, the results of which were discussed by rights groups and opposition parties.

In July, while bailing a prominent PML-N party leader in a corruption case, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled on the country’s anti-corruption guardian. he appeared to be partisan in his proceedings.

“The office also seems reluctant to deal with large-scale financial fraud against people on one side of the political divide, without giving sufficient reasons for those on the other side to be arrested and imprisoned for months and years,” the Supreme Court said. Maqbool Baqar Court Judge in a final judgment.

Asad Hashim is a digital correspondent for Pakistan’s Al Jazeera. He tweets @AsadHashim