In an apparent bid to prevent the leak of official information and documents, the Pakistani government has barred all its employees from using social media platforms and warned of disciplinary action in case of violation of its order. A notification issued by the Establishment Division on Aug 25 says no government servant can participate in any media platform except with the permission of the government.

The notification also bars a government servant from offering views on any media platform which may either harm the national security or friendly relations with foreign states, or offend public order, decency or morality, or amount to contempt of court or defamation or incitement to an offense or propagate sectarian creeds.

The notification highlighted that the government servants often engaged themselves with social media such as websites and applications that enabled users to create and share content or participate in social networking/virtual communities/online groups.

“They, while using different social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microblogging, etc, to air their views on a host of subjects, sometimes indulge in actions or behavior that does not conform to the required standards of official conduct, as envisaged in the Rules,” the notification added.

Such actions range from unauthorized relaying of the official information to disseminating the wrong or misleading information to the airing of political or sectarian views etc.

The notification warned all government servants that violation of one or more of these instructions would be tantamount to misconduct and lead to disciplinary action against the delinquent government servant under Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020.

Besides, it said, disciplinary proceedings would also be held against the serving government servants in case they were administrators of a social media group where any violation had been committed.

(SAM)