No leave till further orders for Haryana's health dept employees

Chandigarh, May 8 (PTI) The Haryana government has proscribed any leave in the health department till further orders, according to an order issued Thursday, as the armed conflict between India and Pakistan intensifies.

According to a communication to the civil surgeons, all the officials must remain present at their current places of posting and will not leave the district headquarters, nor will any leave application be approved till further orders.

In case anyone needs to go on leave, the application will only be approved by the state headquarters, it says.

Meanwhile, the leaves of state police personnel have also been cancelled till further orders, a spokesperson of the state police department Thursday said.

Also cancelled were all political programmes of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

Haryana Health Minister Arti Singh Rao said, "The state government has decided to impose a ban on the leave of all officers and employees working in the Health Department with immediate effect." She added, "This decision has been taken to ensure continuity, efficiency and quick response of health services in the state." The minister said that if anyone must go on leave, the application must be approved by the Director General, Health Services, Haryana. "No employee will be allowed to go on leave without prior permission." In retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke.

The conflict rages on still, with shelling from both sides pounding the border areas.

Twenty-six men, mostly tourists, were gunned down in a terrorist attack that took place in Jammu and Kashmir's tourist location of Pahalgam last month. PTI SUN VN VN