Islamabad - No improvement was witnessed in the attendance at the government offices on Friday, the second working day, after Eid-ul-Azha vacations and those civil servants who attended the offices left before Friday prayer.
The attendance of civil servants at offices was already low because of Pakistan Tehrik Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) sit-ins at D-Chowk.
The federal government had announced three official holidays from Monday to Wednesday for Eid-ul-Azha celebration but the government employees prolonged their holidays to the whole week. The government offices in Islamabad were issued instructions last Friday to ensure that employees resume their duty on Thursday after Eid holidays but majority of civil servants gave no importance to these directives.
The government officials have already been facing problems to reach their offices due to sit-ins in the red zone, which hampered free movement of officials in the Civil Secretariat, Cabinet Division, Parliament and Supreme Court, Election Commission of Pakistan and PTV buildings. Even these days officials of several ministries and secretariat who crossed sit-ins went through body search by PAT workers.
Talking to The Nation, an official of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and National Heritage said that instructions were issued through the Eid holidays’ notification to all employees of the ministry to make sure their presence in their offices on the first working day after Eid but only five per cent staff attended the office.
He pointed out the office work was also affected badly due to the PAT and PTI sit-ins at the Constitution Avenue. He said that especially the lower staff did not take the instructions serious.
He said that he would suggest to the secretary information to take notice of the non-serious attitude of employees and called explanation from them.
A senior official of the Establishment Division said that the staff attendance was already low because of sit-ins of PTI and PAT.
He said that all staff was ordered to join their offices on first day after Eid holidays because a lot of work was pending due to sit-ins but most of the staff members ignored the official order and did not join the duty on Friday as well.
He discussed that the government needs to bind the civil servants to make sure their presence in offices after finishing the announced holidays on different occasions.