LAHORE: The Punjab government has expressed its displeasure at some BS-18 officers for bypassing it to apply for Haj duty directly to the federal religious affairs and interfaith harmony ministry.

The Services and General Adminis­tration Department (S&GAD) has written a letter to all BS-18 officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) and Provincial Management Service (PMS), saying that it was noted with “serious concern” that some officers had applied for Haj duty directly to the religious affairs ministry without obtaining prior permission or a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the competent authority.

The provincial government has directed all such officers to route their applications through the S&GAD for ex-post facto approval of the NOC.

To ensure discipline and administrative control in the future, all BS-18 officers have been directed to secure prior permission from the S&GAD before applying for Haj duty.

Provincial govt warns such requests to religious affairs ministry without NOC will be deemed as ‘misconduct’

The Punjab government has made it clear that if any officer applied directly to the federal ministry without prior permission from the competent authority, they would not be considered for ex-post facto approval of the NOC.

“Furthermore, applying for Haj duty without proper procedure and NOC will be considered as an act of misconduct. In such cases, disciplinary proceedings shall be initiated under the Peeda [Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipl­ine and Accountability] Act, 2006,” the provincial government warned.

Tevta COO transferred

Separately, the provincial government transferred Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) Chief Operating Officer Faisal Fareed and posted him as special secretary in the home department against a vacant post.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2026