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  "path": "/news/1971340/pemra-remains-headless-as-new-chief-awaits-pm-office-nod",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-06T03:23:31.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.dawn.com",
  "tags": [
    "Pakistan",
    "appointment",
    "Pemra Act,",
    "appointed",
    "Pemra Ordinance 2002"
  ],
  "textContent": "ISLAMABAD: Even though the country’s electronic media regulator has been without a chairperson since October, a summary for the appointment of Ambreen Jan as head of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has been pending with the Prime Minister’s Office for over a month.\n\nMs Jan, a former federal secretary for information, was selected by the parliamentary panel as Pemra chairperson. If her appointment is approved, she will be the first woman to head the authority.\n\nAccording to a reliable source, Ambreen Jan’s confirmation has been held up due to “objections regarding security clearance”.\n\nMs Jan is a former Grade-22 officer and has served as information secretary, the director general of Radio Pakistan and as managing director of PTV.\n\nShe also served as press counsellor in Bangladesh from 2011 to 2018, when Islamabad-Dhaka ties were under strain.\n\nShe was among the five shortlisted candidates considered for the Pemra job, along with retired Brigadier Anwar Ahmed, journalist Mateen Haider, Irfan Ashraf and Dr Hamid Khan.\n\nThe final shortlist narrowed the choice to three candidates, omitting the names of Irfan Ashraf and Hamid Khan.\n\nUnder an amendment made to Pemra Act, a parliamentary committee consisting of four members — two each from the National Assembly and the Senate — will recommend a candidate for appointment as head of the regulator.\n\nThe Treasury benches and the opposition will have one member each from the National Assembly and the Senate.\n\nThe parliamentary committee finalised and recommended the candidate for appointment by the President over a month ago, but the file is awaiting onward transmission to the Presidency from the Prime Minister’s Office.\n\nSaleem Baig, the previous Pemra chairman, was also an officer of the Information Group. He was appointed in 2018 and reappointed in 2022.\n\nMr Baig retired in September last year after becoming the longest serving head of the Authority. His predecessor, Absar Alam, was removed from the post by the Lahore High Court in 2017.\n\n**Regulator’s mandate**\n\nPemra was established under the Pemra Ordinance 2002 to facilitate and regulate the private electronic media.\n\nIt has mandate to improve the standards of information, education and entertainment and to facilitate dissemination of information related to current affairs, religious matters, art, culture as well as science and technology.\n\nThe key segments regulated by Pemra include Direct to Home (DTH) broadcasting, satellite television, landing rights permission (LRP), FM Radio and Cable TV.\n\n_Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2026_",
  "title": "Pemra remains ‘headless’ as new chief awaits  PM Office nod"
}