Dr Shahid Masood Sold Himself as Chairman PTV

 

Dr. Shahid Masood Made PTV Chairman !!!

 

I’m flabbergasted to know, and unable to believe that Dr. Shahid Masood has been named as the Chairman of PTV. The surprise is not at his appointment, but at his acceptance of the offer. A person who cannot digest daily meals without criticizing Pervez Musharraf, Asif Zardari and lately Rehman Malik, has taken up the post in a corporation which is not only directly answerable to the government but has a propensity to support the government (under all conditions).

Though there is nothing inherently bad in accepting the government job or specifically becoming the chairman of state-owned Pakistan Television, but when you see the whole scheme of things, the appointment of Dr. Shahid Masood, the anchorperson of renowned GEO News TV talk show “Meray Mutabiq” as the new chairman of the Pakistan Television reeks, and it reeks very badly.

The things become more fishy, when you also keep in perspective the recent ban on his program along with the program of Hamid Mir. GEO News then shifted it’s setup from Dubai to Pakistan, and Hamid Mir resumed his program “Capital Talk”, but mysteriously Shahid Masood never resumed, while the slide on GEO told us that he would resume soon.

He did resume, but as the new chairman of the PTV. I still remember his aloof rhetoric and the high rise slogans, and then I read in the media that he stooped so low that he also demanded that along with the hefty salary and all the perks and privileges, he would also get the percentage of earning from his programs aired by the PTV.

PTV is the mouthpiece of the state. It has never changed it’s stance and it’s very hard that it would do so. Shahid Masood may get a lush push job with all the majesty and access to the Prime Minister House and the President House (why not?), but his credible standing has become tainted for ever.

The unknown person like Pervaiz Rashid was better than the Dr Shahid Masood. Pervaiz Rashid was the previous chairman of the PTV during the second term of Nawaz Sharif, who had refused to take any salary from the national exchequer.