In PR limbo : Notification of information directorate’s restoration yet to be issued

Staffers demand their old office be handed back to them.

PESHAWAR: Although the government decided last month to restore the Directorate of Information and Public Relations, an official notification is yet to be issued and its old office, currently being used by the DC, is yet to be handed back to it.

Unwelcome decision

In July 2014, under its policy of ‘rightsizing’ or ‘rationalising’ , the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government had decided to abolish the directorate, place 140 of its staffers in other departments and shut down around seven regional offices in various districts.

At the time, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had termed the move “a reformation of government departments” and an attempt to make the information department capable of dealing with new trends in the media with a minimal workforce.

However, the government faced criticism from various quarters for its decision. According to insiders, in a recent visit to Peshawar, PTI Chairperson Imran Khan directed the provincial government to restore the directorate with immediate effect after many department officials approached him with their reservations.

Minister for Information Mushtaq Ghani made the announcement to restore the directorate in January, however, a notification has not followed since.

“The decision to abolish the information directorate was unwise and affected PTI’s publicity,” said a senior official of the department requesting anonymity. “Moreover, our staffers specialised in the information and communication sector were placed in irrelevant posts in other departments where they faced push back from other employees over seniority issues.”

Workstation woes

Speaking about the directorate’s previous office near Police Lines on GT Road, the official said after it was disbanded the office was given to the Peshawar DC.

“Our installations, including an FM radio station, machinery and power generators are at our old office and relocating them would be difficult; the government should give us our previous office back,” he said. “It is located in the city centre and is easily accessible to employees and media personnel.”

An insider told The Express Tribune that the reinstated information directorate plans to launch new projects for media monitoring and assessment as well as establish a media facilitation centre. Senior officials are already in touch with the chief secretary for approval, he added.

“A special team will monitor and assess what the media reports about the government and will send emails to secretaries of all departments at night so if needed they can reform their projects or issue clarifications,” he said.

According to another official, the World Bank is giving millions in funding for the directorate’s media monitoring project but the government has given them a small room to run the project from.

“We are short of seating space right now; when the 140 employees who were sent to other departments return, where will they sit?” he questioned, adding the directorate should be given their previous office.

Official notification

According to the official, Shoaibuddin, who is the nominee for the post of information director, has spoken to the chief minister, his principal secretary and the information secretary on the matter. “The notification for the directorate’s restoration and a decision on the office space is expected to be issued next week.”

Commenting on the matter, Information Secretary Abid Majeed said it is the government’s responsibility to provide a suitable office to the directorate. He added a summary has been sent to the relevant authorities and once the directorate is officially reinstated, they will be given an office.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2015.