January 29, 2005 - 12:45 PM

Attackers blow up Pakistan gas pipeline

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Unidentified attackers have blown a natural gas pipeline in eastern
Pakistan, disrupting supplies, officials say, the second such attack in less than a month.

A spokesman for the Sui Northern Gas Co Ltd., which distributes gas to central and northern
Pakistan, said an 18-inch diameter pipeline was ruptured on Friday night near the main eastern city
of Lahore, causing disruption in supplies to the city and several other areas.

"Apparently it is a bomb explosion," a company spokesman said on Saturday.

He said engineers had repaired the damage and supplies had been fully restored.

Mohammad Pervez, chief engineer for projects at the company, said investigations were under
way to determine the cause of rupture but a militant attack could not be ruled out.

"We are investigating the matter but prima facie it is a sabotage," he told Reuters.

Gas facilities are frequent targets in Pakistan but recent attacks have been unusually intense.

Supplies from the main gas field in southwestern Baluchistan province were suspended for more
than a week in mid-January after an attack by Baluch tribesmen seeking more autonomy in which as
many as 15 people were killed.

Police said suspected tribesmen fired two rockets and detonated two small bombs on Friday
night in Quetta, capital of Baluchistan, but caused no casualities.

Authorities have beefed up security for the Sui gas field, about 440 miles southwest of the capital,
Islamabad, and the military has said it plans to set up a permanent base in the area to thwart more
attacks.

Baluch nationalists and tribesmen have long been vying for greater economic and political rights
and a bigger share in the exploration in a province rich in minerals yet one of the most backward in
Pakistan.

The attacks have been a blow to Pakistan's efforts to attract foreign investment into oil and gas
exploration and have called into question its security guarantees for a proposed gas pipeline
running from Iran to India via its territory.