The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ordered the Punjab Chief Secretary to submit a report within two weeks regarding the alleged use of public funds for personal publicity.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel report, Justice Farooq Haider of LHC heard the petition filed by a female citizen, Ashba Kamran, on Tuesday.
In her petition, Ashba Kamran named former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, and the Chief Secretary, among others, as respondents.
She alleged that since 2024, Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz have been using the national treasury for their personal promotion, with their images appearing on various government-funded projects.
The petitioner argued that such actions are a blatant misuse of taxpayers' money and a violation of Supreme Court rulings. She pointed out that the apex court has previously barred the use of public funds for personal publicity.
Ashba requested the court to put an immediate stop to the use of government money for personal promotion and order an audit of the expenditures under the Punjab Chief Secretary's supervision.
Responding to the plea, the court sought a report from the chief secretary within two weeks.
Separately, on March 1, 2025, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Mohammad Basharat Raja also filed a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court (SC) against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for allegedly misusing public funds for self-promotion.
In his petition, Basharat Raja referenced the Supreme Court’s September 2, 2022 ruling, which explicitly prohibited the use of the national exchequer for personal publicity.
Basharat Raja contended that Maryam Nawaz had violated this ruling, thereby committing contempt of court. He urged the Supreme Court to take legal action against the Punjab Chief Minister for defying its orders.