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This comes after two Afghan diplomats recently insulted government and made bold political statements on their Facebook pages.

Concerns have been raised over inappropriate social media posts by diplomats and officials who take to Facebook to lash out at government.

Two senior Afghan diplomats recently hit out at government and made bold political statements.

In one instance, Afghan Consul General in Vancouver, Canada, Mohammad Salem Wahdat slammed government for not executing terrorist backers and their sympathizers.

Wahdat also singled out the Ministry of Interior.

He said: Our soldiers should be able to defend their rights . if their voice is suffocated in the ministry of interior when corruption is at its peak, large-scale corruption will increase. This was in relation to allegations having been made that food for soldiers was not reaching them and that the quality was extremely poor.

Another diplomat, cultural attach of Afghanistan to Washington DC, Majeed Qarar, also used Facebook to hit out at government and to make political statements.

Qarar has in the past referred to some individuals and certain circles as gangsters and recently posted: Freedom of speech, civil activities and other decorative terminology is used by warlords to justify their defiance.

In another post, he said: "Pakistan is looking for new customers but Putin rejected their invitation." Below that he used a photograph of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin - which made it look like Sharif was saying to Putin: Why not: We are ready to commit adultery forRussia. Don't worry about this.

When contacted for comment, Qarar said his Facebook posts were his personal views while Wahdat said his posts were not considered an issue in Afghanistan.

Qarar meanwhile said: A civil servant can express his views even about his employer; there is no legal restriction in this respect.

President Ashraf Ghanis spokesman Shahussain Murtazawi said government expected its officials to use social media responsibly.

Our expectation is that social media users, use social media positively and spread the message of peace, solidarity and friendship instead of spreading hate, said Murtazawi.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) also responded and said it would draw up a social media policy for its staff. MoFA officials also made it clear that officials may not use government equipment for personal reasons.

But legal experts have said diplomats are official representatives of their governments and therefore social media postings should be handled responsibly. They also said a clear social media policy should be implemented.

The views expressed by a government official represents the views of his government, especially diplomats who are the authorized representatives of their country abroad, said legal expert Wahid Farzayee.

Journalists and media rights activists also raised concerns and said they have long called for such a policy to be implemented.

Head of NAI (Organization Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan), Mujib Khalwatgar, said an amendment to Afghanistans media law includes an article on social media usage.

We hope that lawmakers in the national assembly will address the matter once the draft [law] is referred to parliament, he said.

Read more:
Calls Mount For More Control Over Social Media Postings - TOLOnews