Notification: Use of Social Media platform by Government Servants.
GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN CABINET SECRETARIAT ESTABLISHMENT DIVISION
F. No. 14/3/2022-D-II Islamabad, the 2nd September, 2024
OFFICE REMEMBER
Subject: USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM BY GOVERNMENT SERVANTS
Kindly refer to this Division’s Circular No. 1/20/1976-D:3 dated 23rd July, 2020 and O.M F.No. 14/04/2021-D-II dated 25-08-2021 whereby detailed instructions under Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964, governing participation of government servants in different media forums including social media platforms were issued for compliance.
2. Under the Rules ibid, no government servant can participate in any media platform except with the express permission of the Government. Rule 18 of the Rules ibid bars a government servant from sharing official information or document with a government servant unauthorized to receive it or a private person or press. Further, Rule 22 of the Rules ibid refrains a government servant from making any statement of fact or opinion which is capable of embarrassing the Government in any document published or in any communication made to the press or in any public utterance or television programme or radio broadcast delivered by him or her. Furthermore, Rules 21, 25, 25-A and 25-B of the Rules ibid bar a government servant from expressing views against ideology and integrity of Pakistan or any government policy or decision. Besides, they also bar 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 offence; or, propagate sectarian creeds.
3. Despite the aforementioned instructions and the guiding legal frame-work, it has been observed that government servants often engage themselves with social media i.e. websites and applications that enable users to create and share contents 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 behaviour that does not conform to the required standards of official conduct, as well as to abstain from following trends, affiliating with political parties participating in press conferences/media talk or engaging in business promotions without prior permission as envisaged in the Rules ibid. Such actions range from unauthorized relaying-of the official information to disseminating the wrong or
misleading information to airing of political or sectarian views or propagate comments based upon cast and creed etc.
