KARACHI, June 2: Law-enforcement agencies were deployed at all telephone exchanges in the metropolis on Thursday on the request of PTCL management. The security was provided to exchanges in view of an ongoing tussle between the management and workers. The PTCL workers’ unions had warned the management that if their demands were not met, they would make the telephone network non-operational.

City police chief Tariq Jamil said: “We have provided security to all exchanges in the city. Rangers personnel have also been deployed along with the police on security duty.”

About any crackdown against PTCL workers, Mr Jamil said: “No arrest has so far been made. Even we have not picked up any PTCL worker.”

However, sources in the PTCL said raids were conducted to arrest the leader of Workers Pak Union, Shahid Ilyas at his P&T Colony residence. The police had picked up two leaders of action committee, Tariq Baloch and Khalil Qureshi. Later, they were released after they gave an undertaking to the police that they would not create law and order situation, the sources claimed.

In a press statement, Central President of Employees Union and a member of the action committee, Ziauddin, asked the PTCL administration to refrain from victimisation innocent workers who were being arrested for observing a peaceful strike against the privatization of their organization, adds PPI.

He claimed that many PTCL workers had been arrested during night-long raids on Wednesday. He demanded their release within 24 hours and said if they were not released, the operation of the telephone network would be suspended and the action committee would not be responsible for it.

He appealed to President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to look into the matter and take appropriate action against those involved in tarnishing the PTCL image.