Prison official sacked for running social media campaign against 'boss'

He criticised IGP Prisons Punjab for ‘having iftar dinner with governor, ignoring his responsibilities’

LAHORE: A senior prisons officer in Punjab has been removed from his position for running a controversial social media campaign against his departmental head.

Assistant Superintendent of District Jail Gujrat Shoiab Ahmad is terminated for ‘violating discipline of the department’ by Punjab Inspector General for Jails Mirza Shahid Saleem Baig, who had announced disciplinary action against the former a few days ago.

In a social media post in Urdu that had gone viral, Ahmed had complained that staff performing duties at the jail were not able to meet their expenditures while their inspector general was enjoying iftar dinners with the Punjab governor while remaining indifferent to the issues faced by his subordinates.

Govt official sacked for violating discipline

According to a notification announcing the termination of services, Ahmed allegedly tried to instigate the police officers and his coworkers in clear violation of Pakistan Prison Rules.

The concerned officer was also issued a show cause notice for running the social media campaign and was given a chance for his defence, following which he was terminated from his post on Tuesday. Ahmad had joined the prison department on May 22, 2017.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Punjab IGP for prisons said all officials were prohibited to run any social media campaign against the department. They are required to follow the protocol and present any reservations through due procedures, he maintained, adding that the prison department cannot permit anyone to instigate others and name-call anyone.