ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi on Thursday emphasised the need for reforms in state broadcasters, including the PTV.

He made these remarks at a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting.

The committee meeting was chaired by Senator Fawzia Arshad.

Solangi said Radio Pakistan is the oldest institution in Pakistan’s state media.

He said we are heading towards elections and all the political parties should discuss the reform program of state media.

Currently, 76 per cent of Radio Pakistan’s total budget is being paid in salaries and pensions. Commutation of many employees, and GP funds are stopped, the minister informed the committee.

The number of pensioners in Radio Pakistan is more than the number of current employees. There are 4,182 pensioners and 1,996 employees, thus, these institutions cannot run, and they need to be reformed, Solangi said.

The recommendations made in the meeting of the committee on October 9, 2023, especially related to the 53 employees recruited on daily wages were reviewed in the meeting.

The minister said that an investigation will be done once clear instructions are given by the committee, about the recruitment of employees.

The caretaker government cannot make any regular appointments, he said.

The caretaker government cannot even shut down any institution, he further added.

He said some people have to be hired from time to time to overcome the shortage of staff or run necessary programs. The advertisement process for recruitment on daily wages will be long, thus, institutions will not be able to work that way.

However, the ministry will follow the committee’s opinion and decision if the committee recommends that advertisement is mandatory for daily wages, too.

The committee should give clear instructions regarding advertisement for recruitment on daily wage or not to do any kind of recruitment, Solangi said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023