Plea against awards for cricketers dismissed

LHC says courts cannot interfere in policy matters of the government.

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday dismissed a petition against the distribution of cash prizes among the Pakistan cricket team by the Punjab chief minister (CM), Shahbaz Sharif, from the national exchequer, ruling that courts cannot interfere in policy matter of the government.

“If the government wants to give award to someone for encouragement, the courts have nothing to do with it,” the judge observed.

The chief minister has announced Rs500,000 cash prize for each of the Pakistan cricket team player from public exchequer. Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffrey had challenged the CM’s announcement in the LHC. He had asked the court to restrain the chief minister from misusing public money.

He said that the chief minister should give cash prizes to the players from his own pocket as he had no right to waste public money. He said the CM should be stopped from hosting a reception in the honour of the team as it would cost more than Rs3 million, also from the national exchequer.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2011.