Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Chairman Chaudhry Rashid Ahmad has been served with a Show Cause Notice for initiating self-serving summary for the president to get himself appointed while violating the verdict of Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) of January 15, 2013 and rules of procedure.
It also said that Rashid Ahmad’s promotion from BPS-21 to BPS-22 on the basis of a false certificate was also against the rules.
The show cause notice, issued by Interior Secretary Shahid Khan, who has been appointed as the inquiry officer by the president, said that the summary for the appointment of the PEMRA chairman was put up to him (information & broadcasting secretary) by his subordinate officer namely Nasir Jamal, director general (IP). However, the summary did not mention how the panel of three persons was selected including his (Rashid Ahmad) name. The said note also did not disclose as to how the seven names of serving or retired officers of the information group were selected, which were screened and names of three persons were sent for selection of one of them. The list of serving or retired officers of the information group, annexed with the said note including the names of the information secretary at top of the list and including names of PTV MD Yousaf Baig Mirza, PBC DG Murtaza Solangi and PEMRA Executive Member Dr Abdul Jabbar, were shown as serving officers of the information group where as neither of them was a civil servant nor did any belong to the information group.
The show cause notice said neither was any comparison of the qualifications of the candidates provided nor was any justification given based on their eligibility and credentials. The summary, the notice said, was irreparably defective and discretion exercised by the competent authority on the basis of the said summary, could not be termed proper exercise of discretion as required by the law.
The notice further said that the PEMRA chairman deliberately violated the direct and specific order of January 15, 2013 of the SC that stated that the position of the PEMRA chairman has to be filled by a person who fulfills the exceptional and stringent requirements prescribed in the PEMRA Ordinance and not by a casual appointee.
The order further said that the appointment has to be made through an open and transparent process to ensure that the appointee meets the objective criteria specified in the PEMRA Ordinance.
