Pakistan top court grants bail to media tycoon after months in jail in land case

Tariq Butt, Correspondent 

Pakistan’s Supreme Court (SC) on Monday granted bail to the chief executive of Jang Group of Newspapers, Mir Shakil-ur Rehman, months after his arrest in an old case related to allegations of tax evasion in a real estate purchase.

The top court granted bail to Rehman against a surety bond of Rs10 million. The Lahore High Court had earlier denied bail to Rehman, after which he had appealed the decision in the SC.

He was held in detention for more than 200 days by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a case related to the purchase of a property more than 30 years ago.

The senior-most executive journalist of Pakistan's largest media group had been in NAB custody since March 2020, on what his legal counsels have consistently argued are trumped-up charges.

"The court has granted bail to Mir Shakil-ur Rehman, he is going to be released after spending more than 200 days in detention", Rana Jawad, Geo TV's director of news, said.

Last week, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on Pakistan's supreme court to order Rehman's release, saying he was being held on a "spurious charge."

RSF added Rehman's group was targeted because its journalists "dare to tackle stories that are supposed to be off-limits."