ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued notices to the federal government and other respondents in response t o a writ petition filed by a former PTV official regarding the governance and management of the state-run television network.

The petitioner, represented by Advocate Kashif Ali Malik, urged the court to direct the government to appoint a board of directors and a regular managing director for PTV in compliance with the State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Act, 2023.

The petition also challenged the promotions and re-designations of PTV employees withoutthe board`s approval and sought the reversal of such decisions. It has requested the court to declare the extension in service of the PTV managing director and director administration as unlawful.

The petition highlighted that despite previous court rulings, the government had failed to appoint a duly-constituted board.

The petitioner, a registered engineer with degrees in computer and electrical engineering, accused the respondents of violating the SOEs act. He claimed that several ex-cadre employees were given illegal promotions, re-designations and extensions in service, bypassing senior and more qualified officers. These actions were allegedly carried out without the approval of the PTV board, the petitioner said.

The petitioner argued that the promotions and appointments were made without following due process, including the lack of advertisements, eligibility crite-ria, and competitive examinations. This deprived meritorious employees of their rightful opportunities for advancement, it added.

Advocate Malik also presented a directive from the deputy controller administration & personnel (establishment), reiterating the need to de-notify superannuated employees and recover any payments made to them. The directive emphasised that any continued payments to such individuals would be recovered from the responsible divisional and unit heads.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro issued notices to the respondents.

Online fraud case Separately, the court of Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah sent 17 Chinese nationals on a 14-day judicial remand in an online financial fraud case.

The accused were produced before the court by the FederalInvestigation Agency (FIA), which requested an eight-day physical remand to continue the investigation. However, the court rejected the request, citing concerns over the FIA`s handling of the case.

During the hearing, FIA officials informed the court that the accused had allegedly defrauded a large number of people by posing asinvestors through an online app.

The prosecutor further stated that the gang operated a sophisticated financial scam using social media and cryptocurrency transactions, leading to significant monetary losses for the victims.

The judge expressed dissatisfaction with the FIA`s approach, questioning their professionalism. He criticised the agency for seemingly providing preferential treatment to the accused. `The role of the FIA is suspicious. The court is unable to understand whether the FIA presented the accused or VIPs,` he wondered.