State TV chairman, board appointment illegal: IHC

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday declared appointment of PTV chairman and board of directors of Pakistan Television (PTV) as unlawful.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani announced the reserved verdict on the matter. Earlier, the court had clubbed all identical petitions challenging the appointment of members of PTV board of directors. The bench had conducted hearing against the appointment of chairman, managing director and members of board of directors and reserved its verdict.

The bench, in its decision, declared the notification dated October 03, 2018 as null and void and PTV Chairman Arshad Khan as disqualified for the post. The court declared Rashid Khan and Farmanullah Jan ineligible for the posts of permanent directors and also declared appointment of independent members of the state television board as void.

The court declared appointment of Chief News and Current Affairs Katrina Hussain and Khawar Azhar according to the law. It was pleaded that rules and procedures were not followed in the appointment of chairman and other members of the board.

It was further contended that the Supreme Court had already set guidelines for appointments to the top slots of state television in a case. Jang reporter adds: Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in a notification, removed Arshad Khan as PTV chairman and gave the charge to Information Secretary Akbar Durrani till appointment of a regular chairman.