LAHORE: An
accountability court on Tuesday extended the judicial remand of Jang/Geo
Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman till June 1 in a case pertaining to the
purchase of a private piece of land more than thirty years ago.

Jail authorities
didn’t produce Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman before the court due to coronavirus
situation. However, District Jail Assistant Superintendent Ashiq Hussain
appeared before the court with a jail report.

Accountability Court
Judge Jawadul Hassan inquired where Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman is. To which the jail
official replied that the accused is in jail and could not be produced before
the court due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation.

The judge, while
addressing the jail official, said don’t mislead the courts. The judge said the
government has no authority to issue orders to suspend court proceedings. There
is no provision in the law, which allows governments to lead the courts, the
judge said and added he has no objections to SOPs made for court proceedings
but the wording of SOPs is like dictation to the courts.

It is pertinent to
mention here that the editor-in-chief of the Jang/Geo Group is in custody for
61 days in a case which is of documentary nature.

Newspaper: The News