HARIPUR, Sept 5: The management of the Telephone Industries of Pakistan (TIP), Haripur, has decided to wind up its own setup, leaving 2,000 workers in a quandary, as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani has reportedly rescinded the executive order of his predecessor regarding handing over TIP to the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), official sources told Dawn here on Friday.

Sources privy to the official record said the management of the KRL had taken over the charge of TIP following the executive order of then prime minister Shaukat Aziz last year. The KRL management had taken over the charge of the factory when it was on the verge of closure with its production touching its lowest level and liabilities crossing Rs2 billion.

The KRL management, according to the sources, introduced two new projects and increased the production of TIP’s ‘Al Meezan’ energy meters from 2,000 to 15,000 meters per month by injecting financial support of Rs30 million per month in the shape of salary of 2,000 employees and 3,000 pensioners.

But, the sources said, the bureaucracy at the Ministry of Information Technology kept delaying the issuance of ownership rights of TIP to the KRL. However, a couple of days ago, on repeated requests of the KRL, the ministry forwarded the summary of the notification to Mr Gillani, who turned it down and asked the ministry to immediately take back the charge of the factory from the KRL.

This, they said, had created a sense of job insecurity among the factory workers because in the present circumstances TIP would not be able to pay salaries to its employees beyond September.