Daily Times

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Saturday directed the Sindh government to remove all advertisements and signboards with pictures of politicians by April 4.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, heard a suo motu case pertaining to advertisement campaigns of provincial governments with public money.

The court directed the Sindh chief secretary to submit complete details of advertisements which carried pictures of political leaders as well as the funds spent on those. He was further directed to submit an affidavit that the details he would be submitting were accurate.

“Newspapers and televisions run so many advertisements with pictures of politicians … there are even political figures in the government’s posters at polling stations,” the CJP observed. He stated that whether images are of previous politicians or current ones, they will not be featured on government advertisements. “All such advertisements need to be removed and their cost value be returned to the national exchequer,” he ordered. The court then gave a deadline of April 4 to remove the images of all political personalities from government-owned signboards and panaflex displays, adding that that henceforth no politicians will be featured on such platforms. “National treasury won’t pay for their pictures to be displayed,” he added.

The CJP affirmed that he would ensure that public money spent on self-projection of the provincial governments through media drives is returned to the national exchequer. He observed that the advertisements at a time when the general elections are round the corner are tantamount to pre-poll rigging.

Published in Daily Times, March 18^th 2018.