Notices issued: pemra chief's appointment challenged

The federal government and the Information Ministry have been served with notices to which they must respond by December 17 following a petition challenging the appointment of a journalist as chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. On Thursday, the petitioner's Counsel, Azhar Siddique, argued that journalist Absar Alam's appointment appeared to be influenced by politics. He also said the government had also filled up the authority's top post with a temporary appointment.
He then went on to argue that the Supreme Court barred contract appointments on permanent posts, and although the journalist had challenged the appointment process some years ago, he now occupied the office himself. "The prime purpose of this appointment was to issue direct-to-home licenses to blue-eyed companies," the counsel remarked.