Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Hassan Murtaza alleged that Pakistan Television (PTV) is facing an artificial financial crisis, claiming the situation has left employees without salaries for several months.
In a statement, Murtaza accused the government of deliberately weakening the state broadcaster as part of a plan to privatise its valuable properties.
He alleged that the privatisation lobby is targeting PTV’s real estate assets, worth trillions of rupees, and warned of possible building auctions.
He said delays in salaries and pensions were unnecessary and linked to the removal of the Rs35 PTV fee from electricity bills.
Murtaza also held the Minister for Information and the PTV managing director responsible for what he described as the broadcaster’s near-bankruptcy.
The PPP leader criticised the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills and other state-run enterprises, terming it detrimental to workers and aimed at benefiting specific groups.
Read: State TV spent nearly Rs140m on power bills
Earlier, state-run Pakistan Television Headquarters racked up electricity bills exceeding Rs138.94 million over the past five fiscal years, according to official figures submitted to the National Assembly.
According to a written response submitted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the NA, PTV's electricity expenditure has steadily risen each year, with a total of Rs138,936,472 spent from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
In the fiscal year 2020-21, the electricity bill stood at Rs17,287,399, which increased to Rs24,045,382 in 2021-22, followed by Rs28,895,833 in 2022-23.
The upward trend continued in 2023-24, when Rs37,693,235 was spent. Although the figure slightly decreased in 2024-25, it still amounted to Rs31,014,623.
The cumulative total over the five years came to Rs138,936,472.
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