Probe body declares acting MD PTV senior most director | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Probe body declares acting MD PTV senior most director

Pakistan Press Foundation

By: ASIM QADEER RANA

ISLAMABAD: As the state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) waits for its permanent boss, the inquiry committee of Information Ministry formed on the orders of Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared the Acting Managing Director Mustafa Kamal Kazi as the senior most director in the PTV top brass.

IHC also directed the Information Ministry to constitute a high level committee regarding information submitted before the court about Mustafa Kamal Kazi being a senior most working director in PTV.

The inquiry order has been issued in pursuance of the Islamabad High Court orders, in writ petition no 1874/2013, directing the former caretaker government not to order any postings/transfers involving policy or senior management positions. IHC further directed Qazi to continue working as MD PTV till further orders.

The then secretary Information Agha Nadeem made independent inquiry committee on the order of IHC under the chairman ship of Director General cyber wing Raja Muhammad Farooq, Asad ullah Khan, Director Administration PTV, Muhammad Farooq Section officer of ministry of information.

According to the inquiry report available with The Nation revealed that no seniority list was officially submitted by the PTV before the court as only one seniority list was submitted to ministry, which was subsequently authenticated by the administration of PTV in response to the committee communication along with observations.

The inquiry report added Col Hassan Immad Muhammedi shown as most senior in the seniority list was directly inducted in PTV as director assignment on October 17, 2006 without following the PTV procedure for appointment of a whole time director. Therefore he is not a regular director. Col Hassan was the Director Media of the former President Gen (retd) Pervez Musharaf and when President Asif Zardari took the oath as president, Col Hassan managed to enter in PTV ranks through his official connections.

The inquiry report said Agha Masood Shorsh shown at number 2 position of the seniority list was engaged as resource person through the good offices of former information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and subsequently designated as director in PTV in 2006. He also cannot to be considered as a regular director. The inquiry report further said Eng Kazi Mustafa Kamal shown at number 3 of the seniority list is a regular employees of PTV He was inducted as deputy controller engineering in 1986, after following the laid down procedure of the corporation he declared senior most director of PTV.

PTV officials say since the IHC declared the senior most director to Mustafa Kamal Kazi, but various vested group want to grab this lucrative position. The Current M.D PTV, they feel, deserves the post as per the PTV policy. Various vested interests, officials reveal, especially the private production mafia wants to capture the PTV to sell their dramas, but their production standards is not upto mark. The censor committee and purchase committee of PTV recently rejected many dramas but they still want to sale their production to PTV, the current MD is proving a main obstacle in their path.

Earlier Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended the appointment of the former managing director of Pakistan Television (PTV) and replaced him with a PTV director for an interim period. The suspension order for Yousaf Baig Mirza was passed by IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui in response to a petition filed by a former PTV MD who had challenged his removal. PTV Director Engineering Mustafa Kamal Kazi has been appointed as the MD. Mirza was appointed in 2009 on contract more then 4.5million rupees and also gets three percent advertisement commission from PTV. On April 8, the IHC had summoned him in person after PTV’s counsel informed that he was not appointed through a competitive process.

The Nation


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