Public Funds or Personal Promotion? Petition Challenges Punjab CM’s Ads on Publicly Funded Electric Buses

Lahore: A legal petition has been submitted to the Lahore High Court (LHC) challenging the display of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s photographs on newly introduced electric buses in Punjab.

The petition, filed by the opposition leader of the Punjab Assembly, Ahmad Khan, through his legal counsel, alleges that this act constitutes personal advertising funded by public resources, thereby violating a prior Supreme Court ruling against such practices.

The Punjab Chief Secretary and Director-General of Public Relations (DGPR) were directed by Justice Farooq Haider to respond to formal complaints regarding the purported misappropriation of funds.  The arguments contend that the Punjab government utilised public funds to acquire electric vehicles, which were subsequently adorned with Maryam Nawaz imagery to bolster her personal profile.  The petition contends that this funding activity contravenes prior Supreme Court decisions regarding the prohibition of public expenditure for personal promotion.

The petitioners are seeking the recovery of all promotional costs and the imposition of contempt of court penalties on those responsible for promoting Maryam Nawaz.  Additionally, the petitioners are seeking judicial orders that would require the Chief Secretary to remove all bus advertisements that feature the Chief Minister.

The Punjab government initiated the pilot program for trackless electric buses as part of its sustainable public transport system, which is when the legal challenge arose.  The provincial transport department was previously instructed by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to commence trials of the Automated Rapid Transit (ART) system, which is operational in Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, and Qatar.

The ART system will assist Punjab in modernising its public transit system by establishing dedicated bus routes for standard public roads that operate above ground. This will be achieved by deploying electric buses that do not require rails.  Each ART bus is equipped with solar-powered fast-charging, Wi-Fi, and CCTV, and can accommodate between 250 and 300 passengers.

Starting with this initial release, the government has implemented a four-year strategy to deploy ART buses in Lahore, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala in order to reach all urban centres in Pakistan, including minor metropolitan areas.

The LHC is expected to deliberate on the petition’s claims and the responses from the implicated officials in the upcoming sessions.