Hearing deferred in contempt case over publicity funds delayed

The court had earlier directed the petitioner to submit a rejoinder in response to the reply filed by the Punjab Chief Secretary. In his written

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday could not take up a contempt petition filed against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and others over the alleged use of public funds for personal publicity, as Justice Farooq Haider was on leave.

The court had earlier directed the petitioner to submit a rejoinder in response to the reply filed by the Punjab Chief Secretary. In his written response, the Chief Secretary argued that the petitioner was not an aggrieved party and requested the court to dismiss the petition on that ground.

The petition was filed by a woman citizen, Ashba Kamran, who has impleaded the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Punjab Chief Secretary and other officials as respondents.

According to the petition, electric buses were purchased with money from the public exchequer, but posters bearing the photographs of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif were displayed on the buses for personal publicity.

The petitioner contended that the Supreme Court has already declared the use of public funds for personal promotion to be unconstitutional. It was further argued that despite the apex court’s ruling, public resources continue to be used for personal publicity campaigns.

The petition also claimed that Nawaz Sharif’s alleged role alongside a sitting Member of the National Assembly in provincial affairs was unconstitutional.

The petitioner has requested the court to direct the authorities to disclose the complete details of public funds spent on the promotional campaign and recover the amount from those responsible. The petition further seeks directions to the Speaker of the National Assembly to initiate proceedings against Nawaz Sharif, orders to the Punjab Chief Secretary to remove all promotional material displayed on the electric buses, and the submission of a comprehensive audit report regarding the expenditure incurred on the publicity campaign.