Militants blow up gas pipeline in SW Pakistan

Islamabad, Feb 10: Suspected militants blew up a major gas pipeline in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan today, disrupting supplies to over one million people, gas officials said.

Baluch nationalists have waged a low-scale insurgency for decades.

Attacks on government infrastructure, including gas pipelines and power pylons were frequent in early 2006, but there was a lull after Pakistani forces killed one of the rebels' main leaders, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, late last year.

''The pipeline was blown up by explosives around noon and we are now trying to assess the damage,'' Sheikh Nawaz, General Manager of the state-owned Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) told sources.

Hedidn't say when the supplies could be resumed.

The 16-inch diameter pipeline was ruptured in the Tilli Kambrani area on the outskirts of the provincial capital Quetta, halting supplies to the city.

Gas fields in Baluchistan, the country's poorest province, meet much of Pakistan's demand.

Groups fighting for more political autonomy accuse the government of exploiting their resources without sharing benefits with the people of the province.

President Pervez Musharraf has allocated huge funds to develop Baluchistan's infrastructure which, he says, in turn will benefit the people there.

Reuters