Daily Times

The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) on Friday took up a suo motu case on official government advertisements. In the dock are three provincial set-ups: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh and the Punjab for the 2013-18 period. Thus Justice Saqib Nisar directed federal Defence Minister Pervez Khattak to cough up Rs1.3 million for running ads featuring his image during his tenure as Chief Minister KP under the last set-up. Whereas PMLN president Shehbaz Sharif was ordered to pay some Rs5.5 million related to his tenure as CM Punjab.

Thus it is only right that the national exchequer is reimbursed — and not the dam fund — for what is tantamount to a gross misappropriation of funds. The CJP banned images of politicians in advertising campaigns back in April of this year to avoid charges of pre-poll rigging. Thereby raising questions as to whether the aforementioned sums simply covered the final ballot furlong. It is not inconceivable. Indeed, the PTI had made its presence felt in both Lahore and Islamabad by flooding the two cities with banners. This is not to mention reports of how Imran Khan had reportedly toyed with the idea of splurging Rs10 million on a print media campaign; covering a three-week period.

Pakistan’s political leadership across the great divide needs to rethink the objectives of government ads. For there appears a collective misunderstanding on this front. A vast difference exists between gratuitous self-promotion and raising awareness as part of a public information campaign. Britain, for example, has long imposed bans on political advertising in a bid to avoid distorting public debate on the grounds that money not only talks but has the loudest voice. Yet this does not mean that the London Mayor, say, cannot appear as part of a radio campaign to inform the citizenry about the steps that they can take as individuals or households to curb pollution as part of a broader drive for cleaner air in the capital. This is in the public interest. Whereas back-slapping and the politics of one-upmanship are not.

It is therefore hoped that the provincial set-ups fully understand the CJP’s message. For public coffers belong to the people. Not their elected representatives.  *

Published in Daily Times, December 16^th2018.