PMO bars direct contact with PM

ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has issued a directive prohibiting direct meetings or correspondence between the heads of autonomous/semi-autonomous corporations/organizations and the caretaker Prime Minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, without utilizing the designated official channels.

Nazar Muhammad Buzdar, the Additional Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, has communicated this directive to all Secretaries/Additional Secretaries Incharge.

The PMO expressed concern over recent instances of heads of autonomous bodies/corporations and other government officials directly approaching the Prime Minister and the PMO for requests regarding calls, meetings, and other matters related to specific Public Sector Organizations.

Azhar Siddique and Afnan Ullah Khan lock horns

The PMO has underscored that formal guidelines for communication have been established in the Rules of Business, 1973, and Secretariat Instructions, 2004.

These guidelines must be meticulously adhered to by all government officials.

Consequently, the PMO has directed that no head of a Public Sector Organization/Company or Department of the Federal Government should directly approach or correspond with the Prime Minister.

All such requests or cases must be channeled through the relevant Divisions, in accordance with the established rules and instructions.

The PMO’s letter also advises all Secretaries/Additional Secretaries of the Divisions to ensure that these instructions are conveyed to the heads of Departments/Public Sector Organizations under their administrative purview, with strict compliance expected.