MUZAFFARABAD, June 29: The future of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Television Station hangs in the balance as the PTV authorities seem to be uninterested and unwilling to own and support the nascent centre, Dawn has learnt. Only recently, the contract based services of the two important cadres of the TV employees, engineers and producers, were renewed for only three months, causing unrest and uncertainty among them about their own as well as the future of the centre.

The television centre was launched and inaugurated on Feb 5, 2004, by Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

Sources said 10 engineers and 10 producers were appointed in the centre on a one-year contract from April 1 and June 1, 2004, respectively, and much to their disappointment, the PTV headquarter had renewed their contracts for only three months.

“The contract of engineers is expiring tomorrow (June 30) and that of the producers on Aug 30. We wonder if the federal government was really serious and sincere in running this centre. At least the steps which the PTV bosses are taking suggest something otherwise,” an employee remarked before this correspondent.