Islamabad High Court addresses PTV management issues

The Islamabad High Court has issued notices to the federal government following a petition about problems in the management of Pakistan Television (PTV). A former PTV official filed the petition and is represented by Advocate Kashif Ali Malik. The petitioner asks the court to ensure that a proper board of directors and a regular managing director are appointed for PTV, as required by the State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Act of 2023. The petition also challenges recent promotions and re-designations of PTV employees that were made without board approval. It seeks to reverse these decisions. The petitioner claims that despite earlier court orders, the government has not formed a proper management board for PTV. The petitioner, who is a registered engineer, alleges that promotions given to some employees were illegal and that qualified staff were overlooked. Furthermore, the petition argues that the process for these promotions did not follow required steps, such as advertising positions and assessing candidates fairly. Advocate Malik provided a directive highlighting the need to revoke benefits given to retired employees and recover any payments made to them. In another case, 17 Chinese nationals were sent on a 14-day judicial remand in connection with an online fraud scheme. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had requested a longer remand to investigate further, but the court denied this request due to concerns about how the FIA is handling the case. The accused allegedly defrauded many people by posing as investors in an online app, leading to significant financial losses. The judge criticized the FIA for its handling of the situation, suggesting that it favored the accused.