MULTAN: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company’s General Managers Conference held in Lahore on November 21 and 22 recommended to close centuries old telegraph system, which is running in loss. Similarly, telex and trunk calls, which are also running in loss, will be closed, sources said.
Being a member of the International Telegraph Union (ITU), Pakistan cannot close telegram service without the ITU’s permission. PTCL will have to inform the armed forces, courts, banks, national and international institutions before closing telegram service because these agencies still use the system for calling soldiers or approval/ rejection of clemency appeals, court orders etc.
The conference recommended closing telegram services, instead of improving and modernising the system to meet the requirements of the 21st century. Telegrams to rural areas or small towns are being delivered by post that takes three to four days and several Teleprinter circuits had been closed permanently in Sialkot, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Faisalabad, Rahimyar Khan, Sahiwal, Okara, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Larkana, Bunnu, Kohat, Sargodha, Mianwali, Attock, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Nawab Shah, Bhakkar, Dera Ismail Khan, Loara Lai, Kalat and others. staff report
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