Yr-long absence of employees be considered as resignation:

The Punjab government will consider the absence of its employees for more than a year without any sanctioned leave as "resignation" and they will not be allowed to rejoin their services.
Clear instructions have been issued by the Finance Department that if any officer or employee of the Punjab government is absent from the duty for more than one year without any prior sanctioned leave, his absence will be treated as resignation from the government service, An official spokesman said.
He said such employees would not be allowed to rejoin services.
The concerned competent authority would have to issue immediate orders to terminate services of these absentees as per rules, failing which it would be held responsible, the spokesman said.

He said instructions has been passed because in many cases not only the discipline of the office was in disarray but disruption in the delivery of public services due to the absence of the employees.
The spokesperson said such behaviour of these absentees is against the spirit of the public service and no reason can justify continuation of their service as government employees.