No more congratulations, Nawaz Sharif tells government bodies

Nawaz Sharif tells government bodies to stop taking out adverts to congratulate him.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has told government bodies to stop taking out adverts to congratulate him on his election, after a spate appeared in national newspapers.

A statement from Sharif's office said he had ordered the National Bank of Pakistan and the National Highway and Motorway Police to explain why they took out full-colour adverts praising the new premier.

"The prime minister acknowledges and values the love, affection of the nation and emotions of his supporters and urges them to concentrate on nation's building rather than sending congratulatory messages to him," the statement released Friday said.

Public life in Pakistan is beset by corruption and cronyism, and many saw the adverts, which appeared in English and Urdu papers, as an effort to curry favour with the new leader.

Sharif, who won an unprecedented third term in office in the May 11 general election, pledged to tackle graft in his first speech as PM on Thursday, saying "the doors for favouritism and corruption are closed from today onwards".