PTV keeps anchor salaries secret, Minister offers details only in camera

Islamabad: The federal government has refused to publicly disclose the salaries of recently hired Pakistan Television anchors, while the information minister revealed that nearly 20 presenters allegedly appointed through political contacts and personal connections had been removed from the state broadcaster.

Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told a Senate committee that he was willing to share the salary details in a closed door meeting but would not make them public. He said private television channels do not reveal their anchors’ salaries, so PTV employees should receive the same protection.

The minister argued that publicly revealing their pay could damage their professional value and future job opportunities. The issue was discussed during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, chaired by Senator Sarmad Ali.

Tarar said he faced pressure from political colleagues after removing around 20 anchors who, according to him, had reached the PTV screen through political contacts and social networking rather than professional ability.

He claimed that people repeatedly contacted him and demanded that the removed anchors be taken back. The minister said some former presenters lacked proper pronunciation or the professional skills required to work as television anchors.

He said he introduced a new rule under which only a person capable of working as an anchor on a private television channel would be allowed to appear on PTV. According to Tarar, the recently hired anchors mainly came from private channels and had experience hosting prime time programmes.

He named Dr Maria, Najam Ali and Binish among the presenters recruited from private television networks.The minister said the anchors were hired under PTV’s contractual appointment policy.

He also told the committee that PTV News currently had 216 contractual employees working in different positions. Permanent hiring stopped over pensions, Tarar said PTV did not plan to recruit more permanent employees because the corporation already faced a heavy pension burden.

He said the state could not continue hiring permanent workers and then pay their pensions for many years after retirement. The minister told the committee that PTV’s independent board had the power to make recruitment decisions.

Committee members questioned whether the use of contract appointments was allowed under the corporation’s service rules and whether jobs were properly advertised. Tarar maintained that the board was independent and had not been filled with political appointees.

The minister also claimed that the newly recruited anchors had been given editorial freedom. He said Dr Maria was instructed to ensure an opposition representative appeared in her first programme.

He also said analyst Athar Kazmi was invited despite political and ideological differences. According to Tarar, anchors were told to produce competitive programmes capable of attracting ratings rather than simply repeating the government’s position.

The committee was informed that PTV had become financially viable for the first time and was currently operating without a loss. The minister said PTV was the only Pakistani broadcaster holding the rights to broadcast the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

He claimed that the rights had been obtained from a digital rights holder for around Rs40 million to Rs50 million and that the deal had already moved into profit. The minister said the recent recruitment of anchors had also helped improve PTV News ratings and viewership.

Senators also raised concerns about PTV properties that were not being properly used. Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi described a building beside the main PTV centre in Karachi as almost empty and suggested that it should be outsourced for private studios or other commercial activities.

The committee also discussed PTV property at Pindi Point in Murree, where officials said a transmitter, rebroadcasting station and guest house were located. Members suggested that unused portions of PTV buildings should be used commercially to earn additional revenue.

The cost of drama production also came under criticism. Senator Waqar Mehdi said PTV was purchasing dramas from the market for around Rs10 million to Rs15 million, although it could produce a drama itself for about Rs5 million.

He urged the national broadcaster to restart its own drama production department. PTV officials said most entertainment content had recently been outsourced, although the broadcaster had produced a small number of programmes internally.

They assured the committee that PTV would restart its own productions during the current year. The committee stressed that PTV must improve transparency in recruitment, make proper use of public property and control production costs while protecting the privacy and professional rights of its employees.