ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting directed the government on Monday to appoint a permanent head of Pakistan Television (PTV) and ensure that the state broadcaster is transformed into a viable and self-sustaining organisation.

Chairman of the committee, Pullain Baloch, expressed strong displeasure over what he described as a lack of serious government attention towards the national electronic media. He observed that prolonged neglect and administrative vacuum had adversely affected the performance and credibility of key media institutions.

The committee directed the ministry to initiate the process of appointing heads of organisations under its administrative control at least 30 days prior to the completion of their tenure in future, in order to avoid leadership gaps.

Briefing the committee, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar stated that PTV had, in the past, been subjected to nepotism, abuse of authority and corruption.

Amendments to key media laws approved

He said that successive governments had contributed to the decline of the organisation, ultimately bringing it to its present state. The minister also accused the previous government of using state-run media for political purposes.

Mr Tarar informed the committee about ongoing restructuring efforts at PTV, including the revamping of PTV English and the digital media department, as well as the induction of new faces aimed at increasing viewership and boosting revenue generation.

The Standing Committee reviewed all Acts and laws relating to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and discussed measures to bring them in line with decisions of the Federal Cabinet. Mem­­bers were apprised that, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s judgement in the Must­a­­fa Impex case, the federal cabinet had di­­rec­ted amendments to relevant laws, in consultation with the Ministry of Law, to rep­lace the term “Fed­­eral Government” with appropriate authorities.

In this context, the ministry proposed amendments to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002, the Newspaper Employees (Con­ditions of Service) Act, 1973, and the Associated Press of Pakistan Ordinance, 2002, to substitute references to the federal government with the designa­ted competent authorities. After detailed discussion, the committee unanimously approved the proposed bills.

The committee also sought a report from the ministry while examining compliance with its previous recommendations regarding the timely initiation of appointments of heads of organisations, at least 30 days before the retirement or completion of the tenure of existing incumbents.

Mr Baloch noted that prolonged vacancies in key positions invariably created distortions in the performance of organisations.

He added that, in the case of the Ministry of Information and Broad­cas­ting, poor performance not only reflected badly on the government but at times also damaged the image of the country.

Members who attended the meeting included Nadeem Abbas, Kiran Imran Dar, Romina Khurshid Alam, Kiran Haider, Ms Shaheen, Mehtab Akbar Rashdi, Sehar Kamran and Rana Ansar, who participated via a digital link.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2025