Govt seeks time to file reply on petition against PPP leaders' photos in advertisements

Public money cannot be spent on publicity of political party, argues petitioner

KARACHI: Patients are dying due to non-availability of medicines at public hospitals but the Sindh government is spending huge sums on the projection of Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) leaders in the media, the Sindh High Court (SHC) was informed on Thursday.

While arguing on a petition against the photos of PPP leaders in the government's media campaigns, Advocate Mureed Ali Shah said that such campaigns only meant to strengthen the ruling party's vote bank instead of serving any purpose towards the public welfare. The petition had been jointly filed by Advocate Shah and a former chief of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee.

Advocate Shah argued that media campaigns to project the ruling political party could not be run using public money. He pleaded to the court to direct the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to initiate an inquiry into the government's advertisements in the print media on the basis of an earlier inquiry into corruption of Rs6 billion in the electronic media campaigns.



"Billions of rupees spent on government advertisements in the print media is the public money and it should be returned to the public," argued the lawyer.

During the hearing, the provincial law officer requested more time to file a reply on behalf of the provincial government in this regard. Granting the request, the bench allowed time till November 6.

 

Case history

The former chief of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee, Nazim Haji, and Advocate Shah had approached the court, contending that the provincial government was displaying pictures of PPP leaders in government advertisements published in various newspapers 'in order to sponsor and illegally benefit the ruling party'.



The petitioners had alleged that the only motive behind the advertising was to promote the political party's leaders for political, electoral and monetary gain. This kind of advertising, which is carried out with the public money to advance political interests of the party is discriminatory to other political parties and citizens of Pakistan, argued the petitioners.

The information department was unceasingly publishing advertisements in various newspapers showing pictures of unofficial persons using public money despite the fact that public funds could not be spent for the personal promotion or political advantage of a party, the petitioners argued.

The petitioners pleaded to the court to declare the advertisements showing photographs of unofficial persons illegal under articles 4, 25 and 218(3) of the Constitution.



Furthermore, the court was requested to form a judicial commission or pass a directive to NAB to investigate the allocation, distribution and utilisation of funds worth billions of rupees for the government advertisements in print and electronic media since 2013 till date and recover public funds used in such advertisements.