LAHORE, April 18: All foreign and local travels at the expense of service providers have been banned for Punjab government officials with immediate effect.

According to a directive issued by Chief Secretary Javed Mahmood, no official can now seek invitations of foreign or local visits and for seminars or conferences in their names.The directive said punitive action would be taken against those found violating the ban irrespective of their rank and file.

Officials said the ban had been imposed because sponsored foreign or local tours, and personal invitations for seminars or conferences amounted to clash of interest, affecting the officers’ role of taking independent decisions about matters relating to agreements between the government and service providers.

They said disallowing sponsored tours had been a longstanding rule of the government, but it was blatantly violated during the previous regime.

The service providers include foreign donor agencies, multi-national and local private companies.