ISLAMABAD:
The federal government has introduced a blanket ban on the use of private and personal email accounts for official correspondence across all government institutions, including the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in a move aimed at strengthening data security and protecting sensitive government information.
A formal circular has been issued in this regard with reference to an earlier directive from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT).
The notice instructs all government agencies to immediately discontinue the use of non-official email services for any form of official communication.
According to the MoITT letter quoted in the circular, several government officials and institutions were still using private email platforms such as Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail to exchange official documents.
The ministry warned that the practice posed a “serious threat” to national security, data confidentiality and information integrity.
The letter further noted that the National Telecommunication and Information Technology Security Board (NTISB) has repeatedly warned that private email servers are not part of the government’s secure digital infrastructure and remain highly vulnerable to cyber attacks, data leaks and unauthorized access.
The circular clearly states that all official correspondence – especially formal documents, reports and communications between departments – must be conducted exclusively through registered public email addresses. All administrative secretaries and heads of departments have been directed to ensure strict compliance with the new instructions and to immediately convey the directive to their subordinate offices.
The government has also warned that any breach of security resulting from communication through unauthorized or private email platforms will be the responsibility of the officer or institution concerned.
