PTV appoints Canadian national to sensitive post after Salman Shehbaz clip gaffe

A clip featuring Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son Salman Shehbaz during a segment on Pakistan Television (PTV) highlighting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) created quite the buzz before eventually resulting in the federal government handing down a punishment to a senior official of the state television.

Documents available with Pakistan Today suggest that Muzammil Ahmed Khan, Director News of the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), has been sidelined for ‘running an old clip’ showing Salman Shehbaz with the prime minister during his recent high-profile ‘reconciliation’ trip to Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Moreover, the government has also tasked Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Chairman Absar Alam to hold an enquiry into the matter and fix responsibility for the ‘blooper’.

In utter haste, the PTV management has appointed Farooq Athar Buttar, a Canadian national, as the Controller In-charge News Division, which is a very sensitive position. A dual national cannot hold public office.

When contacted, Information & Broadcasting Secretary Saba Mohsin Raza said that she had no knowledge about the appointment. “I will get back to you after enquiring the matter,” she added.

Majid Bashir, a senior lawyer, told Pakistan Today that the Supreme Court decided the matter once and for all when it gave its verdict in the Rehman Malik case. The SC bench, headed by former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, declared that a Pakistani national could not be equated with one who holds dual nationality.

Bashir added that the Establishment Division has issued notices to various departments in this regard. Moreover, the senior law expert added that by virtue of Section 20 of the Citizenship Act 1951, citizenship is conditionally required, not a domicile.

“Even without a domicile, one is not eligible for holding any post in public sector, let alone a senior position at state media outlet,” he added.

Meanwhile, under the law, the government cannot ask the PEMRA chief to hold an inquiry as PEMRA is an autonomous body. PEMRA has no authority to intervene into the internal affairs of the PTV, which is beyond its regulatory ambit. The regulator is supposed to be neutral.

Through its letter number Ref. No. HP/124/414 dated January 19, 2016, Pakistan Television Director Admin & Personnel Wasim Pervez issued an office order against PTV Director News Muzamil Ahmed Khan, and asked that he be posted as director training academy, Islamabad.

Through the same order, Athar Farooq Buttar, who was the Controller In-charge Training Academy Islamabad, was transferred and posted as Controller In-charge News Division, PTV News Islamabad.

Despite repeated calls and messages, Buttar was unavailable for comment.

THE ORIGINAL FEUD:

The situation came about after PTV ran footage of the prime minister’s meeting with Saudi King Salman. The footage included a clip from the archives which was not of the current meeting.

Salman’s sighting prompted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan to launch a scathing attack on the prime minister, who he thought had allowed relatives to accompany him on the official trip.

Imran Khan raised question over Salman Shehbaz’s presence on the occasion and tweeted: “What was Salman Sharif doing in official meetings with KSA ruler? Has Pak become a monarchy under House of Sharifs?”

In another tweet, Khan wrote: “One major reason for CPEC becoming controversial is Salman Sharif & family sitting in on all mtgs in China. Is it all about business deals?”

This prompted the prime minister’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, to respond to Khan’s tweets.

She sought an apology from Imran Khan for accusing Salman Shehbaz of accompanying the prime minister, and argued that Salman was in Lahore and Imran Khan must apologise.

“Doesn’t behave a leader to lie through his teeth or are you so blinded by envy as to risk your credibility if u had any? Stop lying Mr. Khan!” she wrote through Twitter.

“Suleman Shehbaz is in Lhr. Mr. Khan must apologise. Your lies have cost you your credibility causing your doom before time. What a loss!” she tweeted.