LAHORE: A Pakistani court on Monday acquitted the owner and editor-in-chief of the country’s largest independent group of newspapers and television stations in a 35-year-old case related to allegations of tax evasion in a real estate purchase.
Mir Shakilur Rehman was arrested in 2020 after authorities accused him of purchasing government land more than three decades ago in violation of rules. Rehman, who has denied the charge, was acquitted by the court on Monday, according to Rana Jawad, a senior official at Rehman’s Geo News TV station.
Rehman’s Jang Group of Newspapers, which includes Geo TV, has been critical of the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Rehman was granted bail by a court last year.
Pakistan is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to work. The Islamic nation has witnessed harassment of journalists, human rights workers, and members of civil society.
Human rights activists say Khan, elected in 2018, has failed to protect freedom of speech in Pakistan. Before becoming prime minister, Khan often publicly said that he would have Rehman arrested if he came into power.
In May 2021, Geo TV banned a prominent journalist, Hamid Mir, from hosting a popular talk show after he criticized the country’s powerful military.
Since then, Mir has been off air. Rehman’s TV station took action against Mir after he made a fiery speech at a rally in support of a fellow reporter, Asad Ali Toor, who was beaten up by unidentified men in his apartment in Islamabad. No one was arrested in connection with the attack on Toor.
Pakistani court acquits TV mogul in tax evasion case
https://arab.news/vfx8c
Pakistani court acquits TV mogul in tax evasion case
- Mir Shakilur Rehman was arrested in 2020 after authorities accused him of purchasing government land
- Rehman’s Jang Group of Newspapers, which includes Geo TV, has been critical of the government of PM Khan
Pakistan rejects India’s ‘irresponsible assertions’ after FM Jaishankar’s ‘bad neighbors’ remarks
- Indian FM Jaishankar accused Pakistan of fomenting militancy, backed New Delhi’s decision to put Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance
- Islamabad calls the remarks an attempt to deflect attention from India’s ‘troubling record as a neighbor,’ vows to safeguard rights
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday rejected “irresponsible assertions” made by Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar after his remarks about “bad neighbors” and the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between the two countries.
Jaishankar mentioned about “bad neighbors” at an event in Madras on Friday and said that New Delhi had a right to defend itself. “When you have bad neighbors... if you look to the one to the West, if a country decides that they will deliberately, persistently, unrepentantly continue with terrorism, we have a right to defend our people,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu newspaper.
The remarks came months after New Delhi blamed Pakistan for a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir and conducted missile strikes inside Pakistan. Islamabad, which denied involvement in the Kashmir attack, responded to the strikes, leading to a four-day military conflict that saw the use of armed drones, fighter jets and artillery between the neighbors in May.
In a statement, Pakistani foreign office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad firmly rejects the irresponsible assertions made by the Indian external affairs minister, describing the remarks as an attempt to deflect attention from India’s own “troubling record as a neighbor that promotes terrorism and contributes to regional instability.”
“India’s documented involvement in promoting terrorist activities in the region, particularly in Pakistan, is well known. The case of Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav remains a stark example of organized, state-sponsored terrorism directed against Pakistan,” he said.
“Equally concerning are recurring instances of extraterritorial killings, sabotage through proxies, and covert support to terrorist networks.”
Jadhav, an Indian navy officer who Islamabad said had been working with Indian spy agency, RAW, when Pakistani agencies arrested him in Balochistan in 2016. He was later sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged espionage. India disputes the conviction and has challenged it at the International Court of Justice.
Pakistan and India routinely accuse each other of supporting militant groups waging attacks against the other. The two countries have fought multiple wars, including two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir, since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both rule the region in part but claim it in full.
Jaishankar also spoke on Friday about the IWT that divides control of the Indus basin rivers between the neighbors and ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms. India announced in April, following the Kashmir attack, that it was putting the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty in abeyance.
“Many years ago, we agreed to a water-sharing arrangement — the belief was it was gesture of goodwill — because of good neighborliness we were doing it … but if you have decades of terrorism, there is no good neighborliness and you don’t get the benefit of good neighborliness,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying.
Pakistan foreign office spokesman Andrabi said the IWT is an international agreement concluded in good faith and at a considerable cost.
“Any unilateral violation of the Treaty by India would undermine regional stability and call into question its credibility as a state that claims to respect international legal obligations,” he said.
“Pakistan will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights under the Treaty.”
