LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Punjab chief secretary on a petition challenging the alleged use of public funds for personal publicity of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and her father, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Ashba Kamran, the petitioner in-person, alleged that both the CM and her father have been utilising funds from national treasury for their publicity, following the 2024 general election.

She stated that under the Constitution, a member of one house of the parliament cannot simultaneously be an active member of two houses.

However, she said, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, after the 2024 general elections, being a Member of the National Assembly (MNA), consistently violated the law by using public funds of the Punjab province for his personal and political promotion.

The petitioner condemned these actions of Mr Sharif and CM Maryam Nawaz given the ongoing financial crisis in the country.

She said Punjab’s tax payers are already struggling under the heavy burden of taxes, rising inflation and unemployment.

She said the public funds should be utilised for the people’s welfare, and not “political branding and dynastic politics”.

The petitioner cited the Supreme Court orders saying that public funds cannot be used for personal promotion. However, she said, despite these judicial directives, images of the chief minister and her father had been displayed on various provincial government projects.

She argued that the failure of the chief secretary to prevent the misuse of public funds and his inaction with regard to enforcing the apex court’s order amounted to contempt of court and bad governance, making him liable to removal from the post.

The petitioner asked the court to put an end to the misuse of public funds for personal promotion and direct the chief secretary to conduct an audit of the utilised funds.

She also demanded the recovery of the “misused” public money from those responsible for the wastage.

Justice Farooq Haider issued a notice to the chief secretary for submission of reply within a week.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2025