Tribal rebels blow up gas pipeline in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan, Apr 23 (Reuters) Tribal militants fighting for greater autonomy in Pakistan's restive southwestern Baluchistan province blew up a pipeline supplying a major gas distribution plant today, a senior official said.

The pipeline supplied gas to the plant in the troubled Dera Bugti district from the Loti gas field, Abdul Samad Lasi, administrator of the district, told Reuters.

Dera Bugti, the home of Pakistan's biggest gas reservoir, is a stronghold of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a rebel chieftain who accuses the central government of exploiting Baluchistan's resources without passing on the benefits to ethnic Baluchs.

A simmering conflict in Baluchistan, home to Pakistan's largest gas field, flared anew in December after tribesmen mounted a rocket attack during a visit by President Pervez Musharraf.

Militants regularly blow up gas pipelines, railway lines and electricity transmission lines, and launch rocket attacks on government buildings and army bases.

To win back support in the poorest of Pakistan's four provinces, Musharraf has announced plans for major infrastructure projects in Baluchistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.

REUTERS SRS KP1655