Islamabad (Staff Report): The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s former chief minister Pervez Khattak to deposit Rs1.3 million within 10 days for being featured in government-sponsored advertisements.
A bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on Thursday, heard the suo motu case against elected officials appearing in government ads.
During the hearing, additional attorney general K-P apprised the bench that Khattak was ready to pay the amount. “The amount shall be deducted from his own pocket,” the additional attorney added.
The apex court ordered the submission of a report after the amount has been deposited.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and opposition leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif had submitted Rs5.5 million for a newspaper advertisement on behalf of the Punjab government but carrying his picture.
"Rs120m in one month amounts to Rs1.5 billion worth of advertisements in a year," Justice Nisar noted. The CJP then inquired about a particular ad put bearing the picture of Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The official responded that Rs 5.5 million was paid for the advertisement.