Famed columnist, Atta ul Haq Qasmi, recently faced scathing response from media when he tried to hold two executive positions at PTV at the same time. He has now relinquished the charge of Managing Director after widespread disapproval.
Qasmi is currently the Chairman of PTV, but last week, he tried to take over the charge of MD by calling the board of directors and passing a resolution in his favor. Inside sources have revealed that no such meeting was called and the decision was signed by the members when a circular was sent to their office.
Atta ul Haq Qasmi misused his authority for personal gains
During the short time frame that Qasmi held the charge, he made over a dozen transfers and postings.
Social media, opposing political parties and press took issue with him for misusing his authority in an attempt to gain more power.
The information was revealed by Senator Farhatullah Babar during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting, and National Heritage. Even the Chairman of the committee was unaware of this development.
Read More: PTV Chief Self-Appoints Himself as MD
Astoundingly, the Minister of Information, Maryam Aurangzeb was aware of the incident which was termed ‘illegal’ by the committee members. She agreed to the members’ request that the decision be reversed.
Information Secretary, Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera, has now taken over the charge of MD PTV. The process of hiring a permanent executive will start next week. The post has been vacant since February 2016 when the previous MD, Muhammad Malik, retired.
Qasmi, the oldest Chairperson in PTV’s history, was already under fire as his appointment as Chairman was termed ‘without merit’ and because of other ‘wrongdoings’ in PTV which had resulted in financial losses for the state-run TV channel.
PTV, which runs the most watched TV channels in Pakistan, owes Rs. 58 million to artists and writers across its regional centers.