KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has sought comments from the provincial authorities, Election Commission of Pakistan and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on a petition against the Government of Sindh for using public funds to run its campaign. Advocate Muhammad Yaqoob Lakhair petitioned the high court naming the Sindh chief secretary, provincial culture minister, NAB chairperson and its director general and ECP as respondents. The petitioner submitted that the ruling party was utilizing culture department’s funds to run PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s campaign as the advertisements in the media carried his pictures. The department’s funds meant for promotion of culture and heritage were being spent on PPP’s electoral campaign, Yaqoob said while adding the funds were released during the tenures of incumbent monister Sardar Ali Shah and two former ministers Sassui Palijo and Sharmila Faruqi. He said that the culture department had released the funds allocated for 122 different projects pertaining to preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings and other works. The petitioner contended that the use of the public money was a clear violation of the elections laws and the provisions of the Constitution and pleaded to the judges to summon details from the departments about the government funds spent on advertisements containing the PPP chief’s pictures. Lyari Expressway affectees: Meanwhile, another bench expressing extreme displeasure over the Lyari Expressway project director general for failing to compensate the families whose land was acquired in 2007 to make room for the construction of the project. A two-judge bench headed by Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar adjourned the hearing till May 31. The petitioners stated that the government had acquired their houses to construct the expressway promising compensation in return. However, even after the passage of about a decade, the authorities had failed to make payment of compensation. After having had enough of being thrown from pillar to post, they approached the court to have their compensation, the affectees said, while pleading to the court to order the authorities to immediately pay the compensation.