ARY announces Bol TV takeover

ARY CEO says there is no agenda behind takeover of Bol TV; channel will be launched within three weeks

KARACHI: ARY Digital Network CEO Salman Iqbal on Tuesday announced the company's takeover of now defunct Bol TV's management, Express News reported.

Vowing to get the channel on cable, the founder of ARY group said the media group would launch the channel within three weeks.

Terming the move to take over Bol as second biggest revolution in the media industry in Pakistan after the announcement of the launch of channel, Iqbal said the basic aim of the move was to provide job security to the thousands of workers who lost their jobs when Bol TV was not allowed to launch due to its link with Axact. “We cannot let thousands of people stay unemployed,” he added.

Read: Exodus in the making: Senior journalists quit Bol TV as Axact controversy deepens

Addressing the gathering at Bol TV studio, he said, “We are not here to take down anyone.” Iqbal added that their first priority will be to clear Bol TV’s dues.

He further said that there is no agenda behind take over of Bol.

Earlier in May, the information and broadcasting ministry had asked the country’s media regulatory body to block Bol TV transmissions until the investigation into the channel’s parent company Axact is complete.

Read: SHC orders directors of Bol TV to get security clearance again

The inquiry that was launched after a New York Times (NYT) exposé claimed the IT company was running a “fake education empire”, resulted in the arrest of Axact CEO Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh.