ISLAMABAD: Even though the country’s electronic media regulator has been without a chairperson since October, a summary for the appointment of Ambreen Jan as head of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has been pending with the Prime Minister’s Office for over a month.

Ms Jan, a former federal secretary for information, was selected by the parliamentary panel as Pemra chairperson. If her appointment is approved, she will be the first woman to head the authority.

According to a reliable source, Ambreen Jan’s confirmation has been held up due to “objections regarding security clearance”.

Ms Jan is a former Grade-22 officer and has served as information secretary, the director general of Radio Pakistan and as managing director of PTV.

She also served as press counsellor in Bangladesh from 2011 to 2018, when Islamabad-Dhaka ties were under strain.

She was among the five shortlisted candidates considered for the Pemra job, along with retired Brigadier Anwar Ahmed, journalist Mateen Haider, Irfan Ashraf and Dr Hamid Khan.

The final shortlist narrowed the choice to three candidates, omitting the names of Irfan Ashraf and Hamid Khan.

Under an amendment made to Pemra Act, a parliamentary committee consisting of four members — two each from the National Assembly and the Senate — will recommend a candidate for appointment as head of the regulator.

The Treasury benches and the opposition will have one member each from the National Assembly and the Senate.

The parliamentary committee finalised and recommended the candidate for appointment by the President over a month ago, but the file is awaiting onward transmission to the Presidency from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Saleem Baig, the previous Pemra chairman, was also an officer of the Information Group. He was appointed in 2018 and reappointed in 2022.

Mr Baig retired in September last year after becoming the longest serving head of the Authority. His predecessor, Absar Alam, was removed from the post by the Lahore High Court in 2017.

Regulator’s mandate

Pemra was established under the Pemra Ordinance 2002 to facilitate and regulate the private electronic media.

It has mandate to improve the standards of information, education and entertainment and to facilitate dissemination of information related to current affairs, religious matters, art, culture as well as science and technology.

The key segments regulated by Pemra include Direct to Home (DTH) broadcasting, satellite television, landing rights permission (LRP), FM Radio and Cable TV.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2026