Is PTI Govt Privatizing Pakistan Television or Restructuring it?

WEB DESK: Despite the process of privatization of Pakistan Steel and Pakistan International Airlines had not yet reached its logical conclusion, the present PTI government has prepared a roadmap for the privatization of Pakistan Television (PTV).

Initially, 18 institutions were on the government privatization programme’s list but recently more names were added, including PTV.

The Ministry of Privatization has recently issued a notification following the decision of the cabinet under which the Privatization Commission has been given the mandate to plan, manage, implement and control the Privatization process under the Privataization Ordinance 2000.

According to the notification whose copy is with NEWS360, the Privatization Board will prepare preliminary proposals. Details of PTV s assets as of June 2020 will also be collected. Moreover, details of PTV lands, equipment and machinery will be collected.However, Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz has denied the news, saying there is no plan of privatizing the state-owned channel.

The point is that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had claimed many times before and after coming to power that not only the loss-making institutions would be turned into for-profit institutions but through integrated economic policies, they will create an environment that will help their government to end the rampant unemployment in the country

The question is, what is the guarantee that all the government entities including Pakistan Television will be profitable after privatization and will help government in job creation.

Currently the private sector operating in the country is fighting for its own survival, especially the media, where thousands of people have already lost their jobs in the last couple of years.

There is another question as to how the Pakistan Television Union will view this decision.