ISLAMABAD: Secretary information and broadcasting Nazir Saeed on Wednesday assured the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that Pakistan Television (PTV) would get a permanent managing director (MD) by next week.

He also apprised the court about the ongoing process for the appointment of MD PTV during hearing of the petition, seeking permanent managing director at the state run television channel.

The information secretary said that initially the ministry had short-listed five names for the post and referred them to the commission, overseeing key appointments in the public sector organisations.

According to him, the commission would recommend a suitable name for the post and prime minister would announce it by next week.

The seat of MD PTV has been lying vacant since April 2013 when IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui removed Yousaf Baig Mirza after declaring his appointment as illegal.

The learned judge in the same judgment made Mustafa Kamal Qazi, director engineering of the television channel, acting MD and directed the federal government to fill the post by May 15, 2013.

Mustafa Kamal Qazi, however, challenged the process the ministry of information initiated for the appointment of MD PTV and on May 3 obtained an stay order from the court against the appointment process.

IHC division bench comprising Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan and Justice Noorul Haq N. Qureshi on December 20, 2013 disposed of the said petition with the direction to the federal government to fill the said post in accordance with the law.

After the judgment of December 20, secretary information, Nazir Saeed assumed the acting charge of MD PTV on January 13 in addition to his own responsibilities and removed Mr Qazi from the post.

Mustafa Kamal Qazi then moved a petition in the IHC against his removal and requested the court to restrain secretary information from assuming charge of MD PTV.

He also requested for the appointment of regular MD PTV through a commission the Supreme Court recommended in its June judgment.

The commission for the appointment in public sectors organizations has been established under the light of Supreme Court’s judgment passed in June last year on the petition of Khawaja Asif.

The apex court provides for the establishment of a commission that must, inter alia, take measures to ensure that the public sector appointments are made through honest and fair process and should be in accordance with the law.

Mohammad Waqas Malik, counsel for Mustafa Kamal Qazi, told the court that secretary information could not work as MD PTV as under the statue he was not authorised to do so.

The counsel requested the court to direct federal government to fill the vacant position of the MD PTV after advertising the post in the national press and through a commission as defined in the apex court judgment.

He said that the secretary information wanted to prolong his stay as acting MD PTV and had empowered the PTV board of directors to select a permanent MD.

Justice Siddiqui disposed of the matter after secretary information gave undertaking for the completion of the process for the appointment of permanent MD PTV in a week.