Punjab government advertisement: SC orders Shahbaz to pay Rs 5.5 million

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to submit Rs 5.5 million to the national exchequer after a newspaper advertisement on behalf of the Punjab government, carrying his picture was shown in the court. A three-member bench of the SC, headed by the Chief Justice (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, was hearing the suo motu case regarding hefty spending on advertisements by provincial governments, at the court's Lahore Registry.
"How much did this advertisement cost?" the CJP asked after being shown the newspaper clipping today. Upon being informed that it cost Rs 5.5m, he remarked that the money could have been used to provide medicines to the people. He also asked if it was a monarchy in which such a huge sum was spent on a single advertisement.
The provincial chief secretary told the court that the purpose of the advertisement in question was to show the development work completed by the government in the past five years. Upon being asked, Punjab's secretary information said that Rs 120m worth advertisements were posted by the provincial government in one month. "Rs 120m in one month amounts to Rs 1.5 billion worth of advertisements in a year," Justice Nisar noted. He also inquired what the procedure for granting advertisements was.
The SC then ordered the Punjab government, PML-N, the All Pakistan Newspapers Society and Punjab chief minister to submit their replies in the case.