Parliamentary committee gives unanimous nod to ex-Information Secretary for leading media position

Ambreen Jan, a former federal Information Secretary, has been selected as the new chairperson of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). If confirmed, she will become the first woman to lead the electronic media regulator.

The decision came on Friday during a meeting of a parliamentary committee chaired by Shehbaz Babar, convened to appoint the next head of the influential media authority. The committee unanimously approved Jan’s nomination, which has now been forwarded to President Asif Ali Zardari for final confirmation.

The PEMRA chairperson position had been vacant since the retirement of Mohammad Saleem Baig, who was appointed in 2018 and stepped down last year.

Jan is a former Grade 22 officer with extensive experience in the media and information sector. She has previously served as Managing Director of Pakistan Television (PTV), Director General of Radio Pakistan, and Press Counsellor to Bangladesh during a period of tense bilateral relations from 2011 to 2018. She was shortlisted alongside four other candidates, including Brigadier (retd) Anwar Ahmed, Mateen Haider, Irfan Ashraf, and Dr Hamid Khan, for the top PEMRA post