Pakistan Punjab gas supply hit as pipelines bombed

[Friends of Baloch]

Great news!

Pakistan Punjab gas supply hit as pipelines bombed

Militants in south-west Pakistan have blown up three pipelines, cutting gas supplies to the country's most populous province Punjab, officials say.

Separatist rebels in the south-western province of Balochistan said they carried out the attack.

Most of Punjab province, Pakistan's economic powerhouse and the electoral base of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is now thought to be without gas.

Officials say it could take 48 hours for the supply to be fully restored.

Gas pipelines in Balochistan which pipe energy to large swathes of the country are frequently targeted by separatist rebels, but it is rare for several pipelines to be targeted at once.

This attack was focused on pipeline supplies close to the town of Rahim Yar Khan. One woman is reported to have been killed in the explosion and the fire is still burning.

The pipelines are managed by the Sui Northern Gas Company and mostly provide gas to Punjab.

Correspondents say that very few people keep gas cylinders to meet sudden shortages so the crisis is likely to hit households hard.

[Friends of Baloch]

Excellent!

Blasts hit Punjab gas supplies

RAHIMYAR KHAN/LAHORE: Supply of natural gas to industrial units in most parts of Punjab was suspended on Sunday night after blasts in three pipelines near Yousafabad, some 30km from Rahimyar Khan.

Describing the explosions as an act of terrorism, the managing director of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd, Arif Hameed, said the gas left in the system was utterly insufficient to meet the demand of domestic consumers in the province.

He appealed to people to switch off their gas heaters and geysers to save the fuel for cooking.

He said supply to independent power plants in the province had also been suspended.

Mr Hameed told Dawn that the restoration work could take up to three days. He said no one could go near the blast sites due to heat.

He said gas supply in the 24-, 18- and 16-inch-diameter pipelines had been suspended but the fire would take time to die down. He said the blasts and subsequent fire had burnt some dwellings as well.

Rescue 1122 teams reaching the affected area along with police reported that at least one woman had died in the explosions.

They said the losses would be assessed once the fire was extinguished.

Raging flames after the first explosion forced villagers in a radius of 4km to flee their homes. Some sugarcane fields also caught fire.

The first explosion took place at 9.33pm, the second at 10pm and the third a few minutes later.

The flames could be seen from afar.

The villages of Shahbaig, Bahudipur Quraishian, Shahpur, Rangpur, Nabipur and Sikandarabad were affected.

This was the first such incident in the district. The gas pipelines from Sui to parts of Punjab had been hit in the past in Rajanpur district.

[Friends of Baloch]

Proof that useless sh** hole called Punjab is wholly dependant on looted Baloch natural gas and other resources and cannot survive as a state without stealing from Balochistan.

Inshallah Balochistan will be free from this dirty British invented napakistan and this sh** hole called Punjab will be returned back its mother India or left on its own to fall into oblivion.

Gas pipeline blown up
February 11, 2014

Sir: Most of Punjab suffered from a severe severance of gas supply on Sunday after insurgents reportedly belonging to the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) blew up three gas pipelines in Rahim Yar Khan on Sunday night. People were left without any gas to heat their homes or cook food. There was no warm water either to provide relief to the citizens. It was like a complete shutdown of all activity due to the shortage of this vital fuel source.

Is it really that easy for normal life to be so devastated here in Pakistan? There has to be some other way to live, a way in which there are back up measures and facilities in place to make sure that any such event does not carry the potential to pause life in this way. I hope this disaster will serve as a lesson learnt for the higher authorities.

SEEMA ALI
Lahore

Zero gas pressure adds to woes of Pindiites
Khalid Iqbal
Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Rawalpindi: Like various parts of Punjab province, the residents of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad faced zero gas pressure in houses as explosions in three major gas pipelines in Rahimyar Khan disrupted gas supply even for domestic users here on Monday.

People were already facing worst gas crisis during winter season however, explosions at gas pipelines in Rahimyar Khan added fuel to fire to create more and more difficulties for public since morning in this regard.

The residents in city and cantonment board localities could not prepare breakfast in their houses and wandering here and there in search of cooked food because majority of hotels and ‘tandoors’ were also not functioning due to absence of gas.

On the other hand, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicted to increase the intensity of cold during next three days in Punjab including twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad facing cold weather as hilly areas Murree and Nathia Gali are covered with snow and chilly winds are continuously coming here, PMD said.

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) Managing Director Arif Hameed said that the restoration of gas supply will take another 36 to 48 hours. He said the company has suspended supply to industries in Punjab and CNG stations and industrial units in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said three pipelines of 36 inch, 18 and 16 inch diameter pipelines were attacked in an act of sabotage. The gas pipelines blasts caused deep craters at spots of bomb attacks, he claimed.

The ill-fated residents of Fazal Town, Al-Mumtaz Colony, Adiala Road, Tahli Morri, Shah Khalid Colony, Tajabad, Nazir Colony, Mumtaz Colony, Adiala Road, Saddar, Jan Colony, Chamanzar Colony, Dhoke Mangtal, People’s Colony, Dhoke Syedan, Dhoke Chaudhrian, Committee Chowk, Dhoke Khabba, Dhoke Elahi Bakhsh, Nadeem Colony, Arya Mohallah, Pirwadhai, Bakra Mandi, Dhoke Paracha, Dhoke Kashmirian, Sadiqabad, Muslim Town, Dhamial, Gulistan Colony, Carriage Factory, Qasimabad, Misriyal Road, Dheri Hasanabad, Qasimabad, Khurram Colony, Chungi No 8, Ghauri Town, Khayban-e-Sir Syed, Satellite Town and several other localities were not getting gas on Monday.

“We are using wood not because of nostalgia or tradition, but low gas pressure for three months,” said Shafiq Qureshi, who runs a ‘tandoor’ in Fazal Town. There was good gas pressure for some days but blasts at gas pipelines added fuel to fire and created difficulties for us, he added.

Rizwan Ahmed, resident of Al-Mumtaz Colony said, “People living in the areas with proper gas supply can hardly imagine what life might be like when the gas starts to run out. It is the worst in winters.” The concerned authority should finish repair work of pipelines as early as possible, he demanded.

Farhat Abbas, a resident of Shah Khalid Colony said, “The cold is inconvenient, but sweaters can keep us warm. Cooking meals with low gas pressure is a big problem however, and even lukewarm showers are a luxury.” He also said that current rain and snowfall spell have increased the intensity of cold so people needed gas heaters in this situation.

Sehrish Nawaz, a housewife said that my children went to school without taking breakfast as there was neither breakfast in home nor in ‘tandoors’. “How people could survive in this situation,” she asked.

[gadoonwal]

Thats great news.
They should bomb all the pipelines.

[Pakwatan]

Thats great news.
They should bomb all the pipelines.

Why?

So people can freeze and go hungry?

[Smarty]

Mashallah great news........punjabi kameena and shameless nation is feeding on resources of balochistan for past 60 years....

Go to social media, punjabis are calling pashtuns bijli-chor (after one of punjabi minister blamed kpk for electricity theft even though punjab is reported to be number 1 in electricity theft). Punjabi dhaalkhors have come up with another term for pakhtuns, bijli-chor, while beghairat paki pathans are tolerating it in the name of loyalty to punjabistan. When will paki pathans would become ghairatmand like balochs and their electricity supply to punjab?

[gadoonwal]

Why?

So people can freeze and go hungry?

that gas belong to baluchis.
you can have control over your wheat so why can,nt others do the same.
your province sucking the blood of others,snachting their sources.
punjab have every right to use other,s sources in the name of pakistanyat and islam but others can,nt.
think about it.
i am not blaming the ordinary people of punjab but your rulers,s policy of hate and discrimination.

[Pakwatan]

that gas belong to baluchis.
you can have control over your wheat so why can,nt others do the same.
your province sucking the blood of others,snachting their sources.
punjab have every right to use other,s sources in the name of pakistanyat and islam but others can,nt.
think about it.
i am not blaming the ordinary people of punjab but your rulers,s policy of hate and discrimination.

Gadoonwal saab, the only people that this is affecting is the poor people.

The Punjabi elite already have their houses with gas and electricty running 24/7.

This thing is only hurting the poor people.

[Manzareh]

Baluch should cut off gas. KP should cut off electricity - just to let um know we ain't f*king about anymore.

[Manzareh]

Gadoonwal saab, the only people that this is affecting is the poor people.

The Punjabi elite already have their houses with gas and electricty running 24/7.

This thing is only hurting the poor people.

Sooner or later the average citizen affected by lack of gas and electricity will attack the elite and demand supply's from them.