LONDON – Former finance minister and absconder in graft case Ishaq Dar has denied paying penalty amount imposed on him by the supreme court in a case pertaining to the appointment of Attaul Haq Qasmi as chairman and managing director of PTV.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday declared the appointment and monetary benefits bestowed upon the renowned journalist as illegal. Holding the then information minister Pervaiz Rashid, ex-finance minister Ishaq Dar and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad responsible for the illegal appointment, the apex court had ordered them to pay against the losses incurred to the PTV.
The court estimated that PTV had suffered a loss of Rs197,867,491 (Rs197.867 million) and ordered that the sum be recovered from the guilty in the following ratio:
Qasmi: 50 per cent
Rashid: 20 per cent
Dar: 20 per cent
Fawad: 10 per cent
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/sc-declares-attaul-haq-qasmis-appointment-as-md-ptv-illegal/
The former finance minister declining any role in the appointment of Qasmi said: “I will not make any kind of payment in this case”.
Talking to a private news channel, Dar said that the then prime minister approved the appointment after Ministry of Information and Broadcast and secretary establishment endorsed it.
After Qasmi’s appointment, a summary pertaining to the salary and perk of this post was sent to the Ministry of Finance, he said, adding that Rs1.5 million salary for the journalist was fixed on the basis of his ability and experience.
He clarified that PTV is answerable for exceeding expenses.
