LAHORE: Suspected tribesmen set fire to natural gas pipelines near Dera Bugti, 550 kilometres east of Quetta, the third time in five months, officials said.
"I thought you get those Bugti boys jobs to keep them out of trouble?"
"I did!"
"What kind of jobs?"
"I made them firemen!" |
An official of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), the owner of the pipelines, said, âTwo sub-pipelines caught fire, but they were later brought under control.â A provincial government official said a tribal dispute was suspected, adding the attackers had AK-47 assault rifles. Pipelines have been attacked in the past in the province and officials have blamed tribal chieftains fighting for a share of benefit from exploration.
| The want to wet their beaks... |
Dera Bugti District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sarmad Khan confirmed damage to the sub-pipeline and Federal Petroleum Secretary Abdullah Yousaf said, âIt is a minor incident.â
| "Nobody was even killed. Hardly..." |
However, Federal Interior Secretary Syed Tasneem Noorani denied any firing incident near the sub-pipeline and said the fire was caused by a technical fault. The gas supply to the purification plant was restored within hours after stopping leakage from the sub-pipeline, he said. |