The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights was informed on Monday that state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) is currently running into financial losses to the tune of Rs 5.8 billion per annum. The committee, which met with Senator Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini in the chair, was told that the PTV is running into losses of over Rs 5 billion because of lack of effective business plan, adding that serious attitude is required to resolve the issue.
An official of the Ministry of information and Broadcasting told the committee that the PTV needs a proper and effective business plan which will be shared with the Ministry of Finance to resolve the administrative and financial issues.
The PTV has to pay Rs 14 billion to its pensioners. Not only this, but it also requires an additional amount of Rs 1.2 billion to upgrade its network.
The committee also discussed the matter of non-payment of salaries and pensions to the PTV employees. The committee was told that there is no delay in payment of pensions and salaries but the delay is in payment of commutation fund.
Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Farrukh H Sabzwari told the committee that only 41 companies are non-compliant as of today to the condition of having at least one female board member.
He said that the decision to include women in board members was made in 2017 and was made effective in 2018 but some companies had already held their elections and breaking a board and going for a new election is a long exercise.
The companies, in this regard, were given an exemption till the new election of board when they will ensure compliance with the code of having at least one female board member. The committee was told that the non-compliant companies only constitute 8 percent of the total number of companies registered with the SECP.
The SECP has already relaxed a major condition for listed companies about the timing of appointment of female director during reconstitution of board of directors of such companies.
According to the SECP circular, the SECP through its notification SRO 1216(1)/2017 dated November 22, 2017 (subsequently amended vide SRO 1475(1)/2018 dated December 05, 2018) notified the Listed Companies (Code of Corporate Governance) Regulation, 2017 (the "Regulations") which came into force for the period starting after December 31, 2017.
The Regulation 7 of the Regulations requires that, the board of directors (BoD) will have at least one female director when it is next reconstituted not later than expiry of its current term or within the next one year from the effective date of these regulations, whichever is later, the SECP said.
The SECP, however, received applications from listed companies, seeking exemptions/ relaxations from Regulation 7 of the Regulations where the BoD of the company was reconstituted immediately after the commencement of the Regulations but before the expiry of one year from the effective date the regulations.
The SECP, in exercise of powers conferred under the section 510 of the Companies Act, 2017 read with Regulation 42 of Listed Companies (Code of Corporate Governance) Regulations, 2017, keeping in view the impediments involved and with the aim to facilitate the companies hereby grants general relaxation/exemption to listed companies where the BoD was reconstituted after the commencement of the regulations but before the expiry of one year from the effective date of the regulations. Therefore, all such listed companies shall appoint a female director on their respective BoD in the following instances: on the date of next election of BoD or on occurrence of a casual vacancy on the BoD before the date of next election of BoD. All such listed companies shall ensure compliance of the circular in due course.
The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights discussed at length the matter of killing of Muhammad Afzal Kohistani in Abottabad on 6th March.
It may be noted that this incident is an offshoot of the incident of killing of four girls in Kohistan in 2012 who were murdered after their video of singing and clapping went viral on internet and three brothers of Afzal Kohistani have also been murdered earlier.
The committee heard DIG Hazara Division Muhammad Ali Babakhel, human rights activist Dr Farzana Bari and brother (Bin Yasir) and uncle (Gul Nazar) of the accused. The committee expressed extreme shock at the fact that even after passage of seven years, the culprits have not been punished and the vulnerable have not been provided security. The committee was told by DIG Hazara that Afzal Kohistani was travelling with his nephew Faiz ur Rehman when he was killed and the evidence has shown that the nephew is allegedly involved in the murder. The brother of the Afzal Kohistani, however, rejected this claim. The committee recommended that the case should be heard in Anti-Terrorism Court, a JIT should be formed and the relatives of Afzal Kohistani should be provided with adequate security to avoid any potential loss or danger.
The meeting of the committee was attended by Senators Hidayatullah, Usman Khan Kakar, Dr Mehr Taj Roughani, Keshoo Bai, Sana Jamali and Kamran Micheal, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, Secretary Information and Broadcasting, Managing Director PTV, Senior Joint Secretary Finance, Joint Secretary Interior, Director General Ministry of Human Rights, DIG Hazara Division, DPO Abottabad, and officials from relevant departments.