ISLAMABAD, Jan 21: The Federal Service Tribunal (FST) on Saturday took serious notice of the failure of the PTV management to submit comments on a petition against the alleged irregular appointments in the organization and ordered it to positively file their reply by January 31.

In the last hearing, the FST had directed PTV and the information ministry to submit their comments by Saturday on the question why the alleged irregular appointments in the PTV should not be set aside.

Filed by three news controllers — Sarwar Munir Rao, Hamid Saeed Rajput, Azhar Masood — and 15 other senior news officials who joined the petition later have challenged contractual appointments in the PTV.

On Saturday, when the tribunal resumes the hearing of the case, it was told that PTV has not yet submitted their comments on the allegations levelled in the petition.

The FST also took strict notice that the PTV management was victimizing the appellants especially one of the petitioners Asmatullah Niazi despite earlier injunction passed by it restraining the management from taking adverse action against any person.

Meanwhile a source told Dawn that the cabinet division in its December 28, 2005 circular had repeated January 2004 decision of the government of not making any appointment to the Board of Directors (BoD) of any organization, company, corporation under the administrative control of different ministries and divisions without seeking formal approval of the prime minister.

Similarly all such appointments made in the past without obtaining approval of the prime minister should be referred to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat immediately for consideration.

The fresh circular was issued after it came to the notice of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat that some appointments had been made on BoD, in clear violation of the cabinet decision.

The appellants in their petition have alleged that Director News Ihsan Qadir Hashmi and Chief Editor Qatrina Hussain have been appointed in violation of the PTV service structure and rules and regulations of the government.

Advocate Sheikh Riazul Haq appeared before the court on behalf of the appellants while Aftaf Ahmed represented the PTV management.