Officials from the Establishment Division told a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat that new rules had been introduced governing government employees’ use of social media and the media.
The officials said rules had also been introduced regarding government employees holding foreign citizenship. Employees had been given 30 days to declare any foreign citizenship.
They said some government employees had failed to declare their foreign citizenship and that letters were being sent to those employees. Officials warned that disciplinary action for misconduct would be taken against anyone who failed to submit a response.
The Establishment Division officials further said that employees born abroad would also be required to disclose this information at the time of recruitment. Under the new rules, employees who acquired foreign citizenship while posted abroad would be required to relinquish it.
Officials also said new rules had been framed regarding government employees’ use of social media and the mainstream media. A monitoring cell was being established, and government employees would no longer be allowed to use social media for self-promotion.
During the meeting, committee chairman Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan remarked that “all officers are holding their own courts on social media.”
