By Aamir Lashari
Islamabad: A fact-finding report has uncovered major irregularities in the sale of containers and scrap from PTV Drama and Film Academy, PTV Global, and ETV Centre (PTV Home), Islamabad. The sale, allegedly carried out in violation of PPRA rules, caused a financial loss of PKR 1.75 million to the national broadcaster. Out of the total sale value of PKR 2.35 million, only PKR 600,000 was deposited into PTV’s account.
The inquiry report points to the involvement of senior officials, including the former General Manager Imran Bashir Siddiqui, Assistant Controller Civil Sagheer-ud-Din, and security staff. Sagheer-ud-Din, whose job was to maintain proper records of the building scrap, failed to do so and could not justify his negligence during the investigation. Imran Bashir Siddiqui was overseeing the entire sale process and even signed the gate passes for the containers and scrap. The security staff, on the other hand, is accused of facilitating the irregularities. Based on these findings, the Controller Administration and Personnel issued a charge sheet to the EX-GM and referred the case to higher authorities for further action.
In his defense, Imran Bashir Siddiqui has dismissed the allegations as baseless and accused the inquiry committee of being biased. He claimed that the committee acted beyond its mandate and denied any involvement in the matter. Regarding his signatures on the gate passes, he said he signed them in haste due to a delayed flight without reading the documents.
The case has now been forwarded to the relevant authorities for further investigation and action.
