ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to consider the possibility of initiating a corruption reference against the appointment of playwright and columnist Ata-ul-Haq Qasmi as chairman of the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV).

While former information minister Pervaiz Rashid informed a three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar that he had proposed to appoint Mr Qasmi as chairman of the state-run institution, Secretary to the Prime Minister Fawad Hassan Fawad explained that his office had suggested appointing Mr Qasmi as director who could then be elevated to the post of chairman by the PTV board of directors.

While taking up the case on a suo motu, the Supreme Court had asked the government to furnish a comprehensive report explaining the salary package and amount paid to Mr Qasmi, who has been looking after the affairs of PTV as its chairman after the three-year contract of former managing director Mohammad Malick expired on Feb 26, 2016.

The court directed the authorities concerned not to remove incumbent Information Secre­tary Sardar Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera and asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to furnish last 10 years’ income tax returns of Mr Qasmi.

CJ slams PM’s secretary for suggesting something to an officer at rostrum

The court expressed its surprise when it was informed that Mr Qasmi had been appointed PTV chairman on Nov 23, 2015, while the first meeting of its board to approve his appointment was held in January 2016.

When asked if he wanted to say something, Pervaiz Rashid, who remained silent during the proceedings, said it was he who had floated the idea with a view to reviving the glorious past of PTV which when commenced was a news channel but gradually converted into an entertainment channel.

He said that since PTV used to broadcast English movies and buy programmes from the open market, which sometimes contain unwanted content, “we decided to appoint Mr Qasmi keeping in view his past performance which was appreciated”.

At this, the chief justice observed that he did not want to comment on Mr Qasmi’s literary experience but was only questioning the professional experience required to manage the state-run institution.

Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, a member of the bench, observed that a hardcore professional with vast experience was needed to run PTV having an annual turnover of Rs6 billion.

The chief justice told the former information minister that he was making many material admissions with serious legal implications that could go against him.

The court asked him to submit his reply.

On Monday, the court summoned Nasir Jamal, Director General (internal publicity) of the Pakistan Press Information Department, who is now an officer on special duty. He told the court that former information secretary Muhammad Azam had told him in 2015 that the latter had received a directive to appoint PTV chairman.

Mr Jamal said he told the secretary that being an ex-officio chairman of PTV the latter could not appoint a chairman, besides Mr Qasmi then was over 70 years old while the upper limit set by the cabinet on special cases was a maximum of 65 years. It was then decided to move a summary to the prime minister seeking special age relaxation in favour of an important personality like Mr Qasmi for his achievements in literature.

Mr Jamal told the court that he had no idea if the summary also contained other names. Permission was also sought for appointment of heads in different government departments like Lok Virsa, Pakistan National Council of Arts and Pakistan Academy of Letters.

He said that when he was communicated about the approval of the summary for the age relaxation, he had in consultation with then additional information secretary Saba Mohsin Raza moved another summary for appointment of Mr Qasmi.

But the court was bitter about the procedure and asked why Mr Qasmi had been appointed chairman straightaway when he could have been made PTV director, and wondered whether it was not a fraud on the state.

“Democracy is not a monarchy,” the chief justice observed, adding that everything should go by the rule of law.

On Monday, the court disapproved of Fawad Hassan Fawad’s attempt to suggest something to an officer at the rostrum and asked him to get back.

“You have enjoyed power while sitting at the Prime Minister Office, but I would not like any interjection on your part when you appear before a court of law,” the chief justice told Mr Fawad and regretted that attempts were being made to harass other government officers.

When the court asked about the emoluments, Advocate Ayesh Hamid, the counsel for Mr Qasmi, contested that his client got only Rs1.5 million per month, and not Rs278m, as salary and other employee benefits during his two-year term, adding that since he had been appointed chairman for the first time, he was paid handsomely.

The case will be taken up on Feb 21.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2018