Civil servants barred from social media use: KP govt

PESHAWAR: A letter of instruction issued today by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government bars civil servants and government employees from “participating in Whatsapp and other social media platforms.”

In the letter, issued by the Establishment Department, the KP government stipulates that “no government servant shall use social media to discuss or share information on issues related to government business.”

This includes communicating official information to the press as well as other government servants unauthorised to receive the information.

It is further specified that if the dissemination of information to the general public is required, approval must be sought from the Administrative Secretary, head of attached department or Commission.

These instructions, under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Servants (Conduct) Rules 1987, also prevent employees from expressing any views “against the ideology and security of Pakistan”, hindering them from participation in any public demonstrations or protest against the government.

Finally, and more elusively, the letter instructs its servants to refrain from expressing any “fact or opinion” that may be “capable of embarrassing the Federal or any Provincial Government.”

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