PTV harassment scandal resolved through negotiations

The national television channel, Pakistan Television (PTV) is making headlines these days for all the wrong reasons. Two female anchorpersons recently accused one of the directors of the channel of harassment, bringing shame to the network.

According to the details provided, two female anchors of the channel, Tanzeela Mazhar and Yashfeen Jamal, had accused PTV’s Director Current Affairs Agha Masood Shorish of harassment during and after working hours. An inquiry was being conducted to look into these allegations and on Monday, the accused and the victims resumed their duties after meeting with State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb and PTV chairperson Ataul Haq Qasmi.

The contracts of both Mazhar and Jamal had expired in December and January, respectively after the inquiry, they were renewed by PTV management. Shorish was also reinstated after being suspended from his duties while the probe was being carried out.

According to sources, PTV’s top management and the minister somehow avoided a potential public outcry and severe criticism by lawmakers.

“We thought it wise not to make the findings public as the committee concerned also did not find sufficient evidences against the accused,” an official of the ministry said.

When the initial findings of the probe were submitted, both anchorpersons did not agree with it and approached the federal ombudsman for hearing their case. The first hearing for it was fixed for January 9. A five-member inquiry committee – consisting of officials from the PTV and the information ministry – started probing in November 24 last year and submitted its report on January 26.

The issue gained momentum when Mazhar raised her voice in social media against the accused and also appeared on another television channel to discuss it. PTV initially imposed a ban on both anchorpersons for ‘defaming the organization’, but now that the issue has been resolved, they will be resuming their duties soon.

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Feb 7 2017. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.