ISLAMABAD, June 7: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday directed Secretary Information and Broadcasting Agha Nadeem to probe the preparation of two different seniority lists by the Pakistan Television (PTV) administration.

The court passed the order while hearing a contempt petition filed by acting PTV managing director Qazi Mustafa Kamal against the secretary information for removing him from the post.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui on April 12, while hearing a petition regarding the appointment of the PTV managing director, had ordered the removal of Mirza Yousaf Baig as the MD of PTV.

And till the appointment of a new MD, the court had assigned the task to manage the day-to-day affairs of the organisation to Qazi Mustafa after the PTV administration informed the court that he was the senior-most employee in the state-run channel.

On May 31, however, the secretary information, removed Qazi Mustafa from the post, saying he was not the senior-most employee of the PTV. He ordered the PTV directors to directly report their day-to-day affairs to him (secretary information).

Though the caretaker prime minister, Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, restored Qazi Mustafa, he filed the contempt petition against Agha Nadeem.

He maintained that since he was appointed by the IHC till the posting of a regular MD, the act of the secretary information was illegal.

In the petition, Qazi Mustafa also alleged that Agha Nadeem had pressured him for the purchase of substandard TV dramas from the private production houses on exorbitant rates and upon his refusal he removed him from the post.

The secretary information on Thursday placed before the judge a seniority list according to which Qazi Mustafa was at number three.

His counsel Raja Amir Abbas told the court that Qazi Mustafa had provided wrong information to the court about his seniority.