July 13, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 9, 1429

ISLAMABAD, July 12: An international audit team has arrived here to probe into alleged financial irregularities in the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) affairs, official sources told Dawn on Saturday.

They said the team of KPMG auditing would start looking into PTV accounts on Monday and submit a report to newly appointed chairman Dr Shahid Masood in the next three weeks.

It is for the first time in the history of PTV that a foreign auditing agency is looking into its accounts.

The sources said there was evidence of large-scale irregularities in setting up of news studios in the Chaghi auditorium, sale of rights to air cricket matches, purchase of privately produced programmes and technical equipment, including cameras, DSNGs and computers.

They said that massive purchases were made on exorbitant prices.

Dr Masood held an emergency meeting with the directors of PTV and asked them to fully cooperate with the audit firm, they said.

Dr Masood was quoted as saying that the PTV was a national institution and corruption of any sort there would not be tolerated.