Supreme Court fines Rs 5.5 million to CM Shahbaz Sharif
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LAHORE – The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday issued notice to Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif in case pertaining to the personal advertisement at the expense of national exchequer and public money.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard the suo motu case pertaining to massive spending on advertisements by the provincial governments at the apex court’s Lahore Registry.
In today’s proceedings, the top court ordered the Punjab CM to submit Rs5.5 million to the national exchequer for the advertisements carrying his picture on behalf of the provincial government.
The court also issued notices to Punjab government and All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS).
Earlier on March 1, the CJP while taking suo motu notice of advertisements said that massive advertisements were being given to print and electronic media by the provincial governments at the expense of taxpayers’ money and this was tantamount to pre-poll rigging.
He said that advertisements were run at the expense of national exchequer and public money was being spent for personal publicity which is not the right way to spend the taxpayers’ money.
Justice Saqib Nisar had said that the political leaders must show some courage to make the payments of these advertisements through their party funds.
He pointed out that there was no dearth of money for advertisements but medicines are not available for the poor at hospitals and there was no drinking water in as many as 4,000 schools in Sindh.
