PTV audit flags irregular hiring, excess payments and governance lapses
ISLAMABAD: A recent audit of the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) for the financial year 2024–25 has uncovered a pattern of irregular appointments, record tampering, excess payments and serious governance failures, raising concerns about transparency and accountability within the state broadcaster. The audit report, exclusively available with The Reporters, comes at a time when questions around hiring practices at the organisation have intensified.
The findings gain further significance as journalist Saddia Mazhar has filed a Right to Information (RTI) request seeking details of anchor recruitments at PTV. However, both the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and PTV have so far been reluctant to provide the requested information. This reluctance contrasts with repeated public assertions by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who, while speaking to the media on different occasions, has claimed that all recruitments were made purely on merit.
According to the audit report, multiple cases point to systemic weaknesses in internal controls, human resource management and oversight, with financial implications running into tens of millions of rupees. In one instance, auditors examined the case of Salma Bibi, who was engaged as a make-up artist in 2004 and later regularised and promoted. A degree verification exercise conducted more than two decades later revealed discrepancies in her date of birth, with academic records showing Sept 3, 1974, while official documents recorded March 23, 1968. Despite clear evidence of record tampering, no legal action was initiated. Payments made over the years, amounting to Rs6 million, were declared irregular, with the audit attributing the lapse to administrative negligence and possible connivance.
In another case, the audit reviewed the service record of Muhammad Rafique, who joined PTV as a peon in 1983 and rose to the position of senior admin officer. The report highlighted inconsistencies in his date of birth across various documents, indicating that he may have been underage at the time of recruitment, rendering his appointment invalid under applicable rules. A fact-finding inquiry conducted in 2024 by Rashid Mujahid cleared the employee of wrongdoing, attributing the discrepancy to clerical error. However, auditors described the inquiry as misleading and incomplete, noting that key evidence was overlooked and procedural requirements were not followed. Payments received over his 42-year service, amounting to Rs25.2 million, were declared irregular.
The audit also flagged serious irregularities in the hiring of social media specialists, noting that six posts were renamed or re-designated in August 2023 while recruitment had already been completed on July 31, prior to formal approval. Recruitment records were found to be incomplete, with no applications available for shortlisted candidates and no transparency in the shortlisting process. In some cases, only a single candidate was interviewed, while attendance sheets, interview lists and marking records were missing. The audit further noted that no written test was conducted, experience marks were awarded without verification, and required documents such as medical fitness certificates and attested degrees were not available. The process, auditors concluded, appeared to be designed to favour selected individuals, and salary payments amounting to Rs6.343 million were declared irregular.
A major financial irregularity was identified in the selection and payment of anchors at PTV Lahore Centre, where auditors found that 11 anchors were hired in the current affairs department on a pick-and-choose basis without formal contracts or transparent procedures. Despite a board-approved mechanism requiring structured hiring based on organisational needs, the audit observed that no written agreements were executed, no auditions or scrutiny were conducted, and past performance or audience demand was not evaluated. Monthly remuneration was reportedly fixed according to the anchors’ own demands, while no legal safeguards such as surety bonds were put in place.
The audit declared total payments of Rs84.729 million to these anchors irregular. The beneficiaries included M. Umar Aslam (Rs5.1m), Syed Imran Shafqat (Rs8.94m), Faheem Gohar Butt (Rs8.94m), Komal Saleem (Rs3.54m), Rizwan ur Rehman (Rs8.74m), Amin Hafeez (Rs8.71m), Najam Wali Khan (Rs11.66m), Beenish Saleem (Rs11.66m), Asim Naseer (Rs5.4m), Wajahat Masood (Rs8.94m) and Hassan Iftikhar (Rs3.05m). Auditors attributed these payments to weak contract management and non-compliance with procurement and HR rules, concluding that the appointments appeared to have been made to accommodate preferred individuals.
In a separate observation, the audit identified excess payments made to anchor Maria Zulfiqar Khan, who was hired for current affairs programming from September 2024 to August 2025. Under the contract, she was required to conduct a minimum of 20 shows per month; however, between January and April 2025, only 40 shows were conducted against a required 80. Despite this shortfall, full lump-sum payments were made. The audit calculated excess payments of Rs730,330 in January, Rs584,264 in February, and Rs803,363 each in March and April, bringing the total to Rs2.921 million. The lapse was attributed to weak administrative controls and possible undue favour.
The report also raised concerns over governance practices, noting that a single official simultaneously held three key positions Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Chairman of the Board, and Managing Director of PTV in the absence of a formal conflict-of-interest policy. Auditors termed this concentration of authority a serious lapse, warning that it could undermine transparency and the credibility of institutional decision-making.
Further, the audit found that the additional charge of managing director continued beyond the permissible three-month period, from Nov 5, 2024 to Feb 4, 2025, without initiating a regular appointment process. Decisions taken after the expiry of the authorised period were described as legally questionable, raising concerns about their validity.
Taken together, the audit findings suggest that the issues within PTV are not isolated incidents but reflect broader structural weaknesses, including delayed verification processes, lack of transparency in recruitment, weak enforcement of rules and ineffective oversight mechanisms. The audit has recommended inquiries in multiple cases, recovery of irregular payments and strengthening of internal controls to ensure accountability and prevent recurrence of such practices.
The refusal of authorities to share recruitment data under RTI, despite the audit’s detailed findings, further raises questions about transparency in public institutions. As the debate over merit and accountability continues, the audit report provides rare documented insight into how governance lapses at a state-owned media organisation can translate into financial loss and erosion of public trust.
