SHEIKHUPURA: The Pakistan Army has taken over 73 telephone exchanges located in the district. Reports said more than 260 Rangers personnel and 241 policemen had been deployed at all the PTCL installations. The main exchange in the city was surrounded by the army, rangers and policemen while anti-aircraft guns had been installed at the roof-top.

Meanwhile, police parties in plain clothes raided houses of the local union leaders who had reportedly gone underground to avoid arrest.

District Police Officer Umar Farooq Bhatti told this correspondent that the PTCL installations had been divided into three categories — A, B and C. Eleven main exchanges are in category A while 13 and 49 have been included in B and C respectively.

SARGODHA: The army took over all phone exchanges of Sargodha on Sunday night.

The armymen has converted the customer service hall at the main exchange into a ‘rest house’ and reportedly started cooking there. The hall had recently been renovated to make it a model customer service room.

SIALKOT: The police on Monday arrested five more local PTCL employees union leaders from Sialkot and Narowal districts.

The police did not disclose their names. On Sunday, the police had arrested as many as seven PTCL employees from Daska, Sialkot and Narowal. All the arrested people have been shifted to unknown places.

In a press release issued here on Monday, the local PTCL staff union strongly condemned the arrests, demanding immediate release of workers.

Opinion

Editorial

Collective wisdom
05 Mar, 2026

Collective wisdom

IN times like these, when war is raging in the neighbourhood, it is important for the state to bring on board all...
Economic impact
Updated 05 Mar, 2026

Economic impact

The Iran-linked instability highlights the fact that Pakistan’s macroeconomic resilience remains fragile.
Shrouds of innocence
05 Mar, 2026

Shrouds of innocence

TWO-and-a-half years of relentless slaughtering of Palestinian children, with complete impunity and in the most...
Regional climbdown
04 Mar, 2026

Regional climbdown

WITH the region in flames, Pakistan must calibrate its foreign policy accordingly; it has to deal with some ...
Burning questions
Updated 04 Mar, 2026

Burning questions

A credible, independent, and time-bound inquiry is now necessary after the US Consulate protest ended in gruesome bloodshed.
Governance failure
04 Mar, 2026

Governance failure

BENEATH Lahore’s signal-free corridors and road infrastructure lies a darker truth: crumbling sewerage lines,...