KARACHI, May 27: The army is set to take over sensitive installations of the Pakistan Telecommunications Company in the event of a breakdown of talks between the utility’s management and protesting workers. Sources in the police department said that intelligence agencies had chalked out a plan for the army to seize control of the PTCL’s installations, notably the gateway exchange, if the negotiations broke down.

Various unions of the PTCL have been demanding that the company should not be privatized, new pay-scales should be introduced and contractual employees should be regularized. They have threatened to resort to ‘extreme measures’ if their demands are not met. Talking to Dawn, a senior official of the PTCL hoped that the talks being held in Islamabad would be successful.