ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued notices to the federal government and other respondents in response to a writ petition fil­ed by a former PTV official rega­r­­ding the governance and management of the state-run television network.

The petitioner, represented by Advocate Kashif Ali Malik, urg­ed the court to direct the governm­ent to appoint a board of directors and a regular managing dir­ector for PTV in compliance with the State-Owned Enterprises (Go­­­­­­ver­nance and Operations) Act, 2023.

The petition also challe­n­ged the promotions and re-designations of PTV employees without the board’s approval and sou­ght the reversal of such decisions. It has requested the court to dec­lare the extension in service of the PTV managing director and dir­ector administration as unlawful.

The petition highlighted that despite previous court rulings, the government had failed to appoint a duly constituted board.

17 Chinese nationals sent on judicial remand in online fraud case

The petitioner, a registered engineer with degrees in computer and electrical engineering, accu­sed the respondents of violating the SOEs act. He claimed that several ex-cadre employees were given illegal promotions, re-designations and extensions in service, bypassing senior and more qualified officers. These actions were allegedly carried out without the approval of the PTV board, the petitioner said.

The petitioner argued that the promotions and appointments were made without following due process, including the lack of advertisements, eligibility criteria, and competitive examinati­o­­ns. This deprived meritorious em­­ployees of their rightful opportunities for advancement, it added.

Advocate Malik also presented a directive from the deputy controller administration & personnel (establishment), reiterating the need to de-notify superannuated employees and recover any payments made to them. The directive emphasised that any continued payments to such individuals would be recovered from the resp­onsible divisional and unit heads.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro issued notices to the respondents.

Online fraud case

Separately, the court of Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah sent 17 Chinese nationals on a 14-day judicial remand in an online financial fraud case.

The accused were produced before the court by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which requested an eight-day physical remand to continue the investigation. However, the court rejected the request, citing concerns over the FIA’s handling of the case.

During the hearing, FIA officials informed the court that the accused had allegedly defrauded a large number of people by posing as investors through an online app.

The prosecutor further stated that the gang operated a sophisticated financial scam using social media and cryptocurrency transactions, leading to significant monetary losses for the victims.

The judge expressed dissatisfaction with the FIA’s approach, questioning their professionalism. He criticised the agency for seemingly providing preferential treatment to the accused. “The role of the FIA is suspicious. The court is unable to understand whether the FIA presented the accused or VIPs,” he wondered.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2025