04 February 2005	Friday	24 Zilhaj 1425

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QUETTA, Feb 3: Telephone communication and power supply were disrupted by rocket attacks and bomb and landmine explosions in different areas of Balochistan on Thursday.

A Frontier Corps man, Alaf Khan, was seriously injured when a landmine exploded in the Mewand area of Kohlu district.

Unknown people fired five rockets, damaging a microwave tower and telephone poles between Kohlu and Mewand in the early hours of the day. Telephone communication in the area was disrupted as a result of the attack.

A bomb exploded on the railway line connecting the provincial capital with Zahidan near Wali Khan village in Mastung district in the afternoon. A 1.5 ft portion of tracks was blown up, sources said, adding that a locally made device had been used for the explosion.

Work to repair the track had been started, railway officials said. In Chagai district, a tower of the 132 kV Kirdigab-Nushki transmission line was attacked with explosives.

A spokesman for the Quetta Electricity Supply Company said the tower remained intact although it had been uprooted. Power supply was not affected. He said work would be taken up as soon as possible to replace the damaged tower. It may take about a week.

Another Qesco official said that work on installing four electric towers in Chiter area of Nasirabad district was in progress for restoring power supply to Balochistan from the Guddu power station through the 220kV double-circuit transmission line. The province is receiving 40 per cent less power from the national grid due to damage caused to four towers in the area.