A petition has been filed with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the use of funds utilized from the national exchequer on the publicity of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
A local politician, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, in his petition alleged that an advertisement showing the prime minister inaugurating Azan Khan Shaheed Montessori School was paid from the government budget.
The petition claimed that since the campaign was “meant to enhance the stature of the prime minister and all the works undertaken by his government, the advertisement was politically motivated.”
It added that these funds were generated through taxes and supposed to be spent on building of schools, colleges, hospitals and other infrastructure.
The petition said the matter was also reported to the chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) with a request to inquire from the electronic media about the payment for the advertisement but the Pemra chief did not respond.
It alleged that the public offices responsible for investigating such ‘misuse’ of public funds were trying to cover the act by giving different excuses.
“However, they admitted that the prime minister did not make payment for the advertisement.”
The petition requested the court to direct the finance division to recover the amount from Mr Sharif.
It also requested that the ministry of information and Pemra may be directed to stop the projection of Mr Sharif through advertisements in electronic and print media.
A single-member bench of the IHC will take up the petition next week.
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