ISLAMABAD, June 13: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on Monday expressed concern over the taking over of the Pakistan Telecommunications Company (PTCL) by the army and Rangers. In a statement issued by her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), she said such action could increase the alienation of the people from the armed forces.

Ms Bhutto called for pending the privatization of PTCL to facilitate negotiations with the workers’ unions which she said could produce satisfactory results for all involved in the deal.

Since workers constitute the most important element of the national asset they must not be ignored in the privatization process, she said.

While the PPP supported the policy of privatization, its modalities had to be worked out in consultation with the labour and with the protection of its rights. It should be carried only after taking into account the human and social consequences and the concerns of the workers, she said.

The former prime minister said the PTCL was a profit-making concern. Its privatization must be carried out in a manner where the benefits were not skimmed off at the expense and exploitation of the employees who could end up losing their jobs.

Ms Bhutto alleged that the armed forces were repeatedly being brought into action against the people which, she said, was not good for the country.

She recalled the operations against tenants in Okara military farms, the fishermen and tribes in Dera Bugti and Waziristan and now the involvement with the country’s labour force.