QUESTION GOVERNMENT-FUNDED POLITICAL PUBLICITY — GET FINED RS100,000?
A petition before the Lahore High Court questioned why Nawaz Sharif’s images were being displayed on Punjab government-funded projects, arguing that public money should not be used for personal or political publicity.
Instead of the underlying issue being heard at that stage, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum imposed a Rs100,000 fine on petitioner Ashba Kamran. The court said the contempt petition was improperly framed, questioned the underlying order relied upon, and described the petition as unnecessary and a waste of judicial time.
The petition had also sought action against the Punjab chief minister, chief secretary and speaker of the provincial assembly over the alleged violation of an earlier Supreme Court ruling restricting the use of public funds for personal and political publicity.
The larger question raised by the petition remains one of public accountability: under what legal authority should taxpayers’ money be used to promote the image of any political personality on government projects?