PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) was informed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government had imposed a ban on government officers uploading videos on social media.
The PHC was also informed that the process of obtaining approval from competent authorities and formulating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) was under way.
The court directed the government to finalize the SOPs and submit a report within 30 days. The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Faheem Wali on a writ petition filed by Advocate Muhammad Hamdan against the sharing of videos of a University of Swabi event on social media by the Deputy Commissioner Swabi.
The court issued a written order in the matter. According to the order, the Director of the Performance Management Reforms Unit (PMRU) informed the court that government officers cannot operate social media accounts without lawful authority.
He stated that the petition raised a fundamental issue regarding the use of social media accounts by government officers. The PMRU director further submitted that government officers cannot upload videos related to anyone’s private life on social media, as such content was not in the public interest.
The court was told that under Rule 34-A of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Service Rules, no government officer was allowed to use social media. If the use of social media was necessary for official duties, prior permission must be obtained from the relevant administrative secretary.
The court observed that the provincial government should formulate SOPs regarding the use of social media by government employees and submit a report within one month.
The petitioner argued that the Deputy Commissioner Swabi shared videos of the Women University Swabi on a TikTok account, which were allegedly uploaded illegally from an official page and were accompanied by Indian songs.
He contended that no government officer was permitted to use platforms such as TikTok and YouTube and that personal promotion by officers during duty hours violated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Service Rules of Business. He further submitted that any officer found guilty of such conduct could also be dismissed from service.
The court directed the government to prepare SOPs on the use of social media accounts by government employees and to submit a report within 30 days.
