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Blackout after rebels blow up power lines
Tribal militants blew up electricity pylons in the Pakistani province of Balochistan yesterday, blacking out large tracts of the region, before setting off a landmine that killed a power company official, police said.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 April 1, 2006
Quetta: Tribal militants blew up electricity pylons in the Pakistani province of Balochistan yesterday, blacking out large tracts of the region, before setting off a landmine that killed a power company official, police said.
The official was on his way to the site of the explosions, some 80 km east of provincial capital, Quetta, when the landmine went off. Three people were wounded.
The attack came a day after Balochistan's provincial assembly set up a panel of peacebrokers to negotiate with tribal chiefs leading the revolt against the Pakistan military in the resource-rich province.
About 80 per cent of Balochistan, including Quetta, was without electricity as a result of the sabotage, according to Quetta Electric Supply Company chief Nooruddin Mengal.
"It will take 60 to 70 hours to restore full supplies," Mengal said.
A simmering conflict in Balochistan, home to Pakistan's largest gas fields, flared anew in December after tribesmen mounted a rocket attack on a Baloch town during a visit by President Pervez Musharraf.
After that the army stepped up operations, using helicopter gunships to quell the challenge to central government rule. Critics of Musharraf say hundreds of people may have died although analysts believe casualties are probably exaggerated.
Fighting for greater autonomy and more control over the mineral riches, tribal militants regularly blow up gas pipelines, railway and electricity 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 Balochistan.
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