Government employees were barred from talking to the media and social media platforms

ISLAMABAD: The government stopped government employees from talking to the media and social media platforms.

The Establishment Division issued an office memorandum for government employees, which states that under the rules, no government employee can speak on any media platform without the government’s permission. Cannot share with citizens or press.

The office memorandum further states that government employees cannot express any opinion or facts on the media or social media that may affect the reputation of the government, government policy, decisions, the sovereignty of the country, the honor and dignity of government employees. It is also not allowed.

According to the post, civil servants cannot speak on the media that may affect relations with other countries, nor are civil servants allowed to comment on any discussion on social media while maintaining their neutrality.

In the letter, the government employees have been told that the government employees belonging to all service groups are bound to follow the instructions and for violation of the instructions, action can be taken against the concerned employees for misconduct.

Government institutions should continuously monitor to remove objectionable content from their social media platforms and ensure implementation of all Federal Secretary, Additional Secretary, Heads of Departments and Chief Secretaries directives.

The post added that the guidelines are not intended to impose restrictions on the positive use of social media.