ISLAMABAD, Sept 9: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) has taken disciplinary action against five officers of the optical fibre region for showing negligence in the performance of their duties.

A PTCL press release said here on Tuesday that one of the officers had been laid off from service while another had been suspended.

The long distances transmission system suffered a disruption for nine hours on September 3 due to cable cut in Much-Dhadur (Quetta-Sibbi) section. An inquiry found three officers guilty of negligence in the restoration of long distance transmission system.

Sajjad Ahmed, assistant divisional engineer, OFS-II, Quetta, was laid off while Agha Najeebullah, the divisional engineer, and M. Ashraf Changezi, the director optical fibre, Quetta, were asked to submit explanations.

Similarly, the long distance transmission system suffered an eleven-hour-long disruption on September 5 due to cable cut in new Saeedabad-Sekhat (Sukkur-Hyderabad) section.

After an inquiry, Hayat Domki, the divisional engineer optical fibre region, Sukkur, was suspended while Bashir Ahmed Bhutto, the director OPS, Hyderabad, has been asked to submit explanation.