Steps being taken to make PTV financially viable, restore viewership: Bukhari

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Monday was informed by the Chairman PTV that steps were being taken to make Pakistan Television Corporation financially viable organization and restore viewers’ confidence by improving its content.

Chairman PTV Naeem Bukhari told the meeting of the committee chaired by Javed Latif,MNA that he had joined PTV to transform it and hand it over to the new generation.

He said that unfortunately the PTV News has lost its viewership and top most priority was to restore confidence of the viewers.

He said that his statement about not giving coverage to the Opposition on PTV was a slip of tongue and Opposition leaders were welcome in the PTV talk shows and programmes.

Javed Latif said that all members want improvement in the affairs of the PTV as it was national institution having glorious past.

Javeria Zafar Aheer said that PTV has been giving far better converge to the opposition as compared to the past.

About the issue of showing incomplete map of Pakistan on PTV, he said that concerned officers have been removed and he will see to it that no innocent person is punished for this lapse.

He said that by removing contract officers receiving high salaries were removed which saved Rs 6 million for the PTV, which was facing such a financial crisis that it was not in a position to pay Christmas bonus to its Christian employees.

He said that now MD PTV who was receiving over Rs 2 million salary has been suspended, adding that the PTV Board has decided that nobody would be given more than 350,000 salary in the cash strapped institution.

Additional Secretary Shaheera Shahid said that two inquires were held in the incomplete map issue and those senior ranked officials accused for the lapse have already been removed from their posts.

MNA Javed Latif said that it was observed that low-grade employees were made scapegoats, but he expressed the hope that those would be provided justice.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz assured Dr Nafeesa Shah that the issue of installation of medium wave transmitter at Khairpur Mirs would be settled to the satisfaction of the mover of the agenda. He said that he was informed that 100 KV transmitter at Larkana was covering Kahirpur. However Nafeesa Shah said that Khairpur transmitter was important as its signals reached across the border in India and could be helpful in promoting national narrative.

The committee expressed its reservations over Islamabad Police failure to identify the persons involved in the kidnapping of senior journalist Matiullah Jan. Javed Latif said that the committee would not remove the item from its agenda till the Islamabad Police reaches its conclusion.

The meeting was informed that police department was making all possible efforts to trace the culprits involved in the kidnapping of senior journalist.

The meeting was attended by MNAs, Usman Khan Tarawa, Muhammad Akram Cheema, Aftab Jehangir, Javeria Zafar Aheer, Syma Nadeem, Kanwal Shauzab, Dr Nafeesa Shah, Naz Baloch.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Information and its attached departments were also present during the meeting.