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       LAHORE: A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday against the Punjab government’s decision to feature the image of PML-N’s supreme leader Nawaz Sharif on Kissan Cards.

       The petitioner, Mashkoor Husain, pleaded through his counsel Nadeem Sarwar that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz approved the farmers’ cards bearing the image of her father, Mr Sharif.

       Mr Husain said that using public funds for personal promotion violated the law and Supreme Court rulings.

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       He said that in a 2018 ruling on a case filed by the PTI against the then-chief minister of Punjab, the Supreme Court banned the promotion of political leaders, party flags or emblems by governments.

       Similarly, he said, the PTI government in 2020 had to withdraw its decision to place the party flag on the Sehat Insaf Card and rename the card ‘Qaumi Sehat Card’ due to the apex court’s order.

       The petitioner argued that the misuse of public funds for advertisements by governments should be a matter of concern for citizens.

       He asked the court to restrain the Punjab government from issuing farmer cards with Nawaz Sharif’s image and to recover the expenses incurred for placing the former prime minister’s image on the cards.

       The petitioner requested the court immediately halt the printing of the cards until a final decision on the petition is made.

       Petitions against Mr Sharif for chairing administrative meetings of the Punjab government and using his photo on the flour bags for the Ramazan package are already pending before the high court.

       Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2024