Pakistan’s Party Party (PPP) party, Hassan Murtaza, alleged that Pakistani television (PTV) faced an artificial financial crisis, saying the situation left employees without salary for several months.
In a statement, Murtaza accused the government of having deliberately weakened the state diffuser as part of a plan to privatize its precious properties.
He allegedly alleged that the privatization lobby targeted PTV’s real estate assets, worth billions of rupees and warned against possible auctions.
He said delays in wages and pensions were not necessary and linked to the abolition of PTV RS35 costs of electricity bills.
Murtaza also held the Minister of Information and the Director General of the PTV responsible for what he described as the quasi-manufacturer.
The PPP chief criticized the privatization of Pakistani steelworks and other companies managed by the State, which describes him as prejudice to workers and aimed to benefit from specific groups.
Read: State television spent almost RS140m on electricity bills
Earlier, Pakistan television headquarters managed by the state accumulated electricity bills exceeding 138.94 million rupees in the last five years, according to official figures subject to the National Assembly.
According to a written response submitted by the Ministry of Information and Dissemination in the NA, PTV electricity expenses have regularly increased each year, with a total of RS138 936 472 spent from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
During the year 2020-2010, the electricity bill amounted to RS17,287,399, which increased to RS24,045,382 in 2021-2022, followed by RS28 895 833 in 2022-23.
The upward trend continued in 2023-24, when RS37 693 235 was spent. Although the figure decreased slightly in 2024-25, it still amounted to Rs31.014 623.
The total cumulative in the five years came to Rs138 936 472.
