The federal government has re-appointed media expert Syed Anwar Mahmood, a grade 22 officer of Information Service group, as the federal Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Syed Anwar Mahmood was appointed federal Health Secretary in 2005 after serving five years as Information Secretary.
Mahmood's appointment follows this month's fiasco of police attack on a private TV channel. The resentment heightened so much that President Musharraf had to make a public apology. Mahmood, a soft-spoken bureaucrat has friendly relations with the electronic and the print media across the board and will also be Chairman of the government-owned Pakistan Television Corporation.
The Secretary, who has 36-year experience on various posts of Information and Broadcasting Ministry, is also considered as one of the architects of liberalisation of electronic and print media in Pakistan. However, analysts feel that Mahmood, already on extension, will face a tough task of managing the media due to the on-going judicial crisis in the country.