QUETTA, Jan 3: The gas pipeline to the Uch power plant was blown up in an attack on Tuesday night suspending supply to the plant while sporadic rocket and artillery duels between security forces and tribesmen continued in different parts of Dera Bugti.

The district coordination officer said the rocket fire had damaged a water plant of the Loti gas field and voiced fears that if repair work was not undertaken within 72 hours the supply of gas would be suspended.

An official of the Mir Hasan police station in Nasirabad confirmed that the Uch gas pipeline had caught fire at 11pm. He, however, was unable to confirm whether it was technical fault or subversive act.

A spokesman for the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) and the party’s secretary general Agha Shahid Hasan Bugti said on Tuesday night that rocket duels were fought amidst a heavy exchange of fire which continued for three hours in Bekar area. Mr Shahid claimed that Bekar was in the control of those resisting the state’s assault.

He said that regular troops had been deployed in the Loti gas field on Tuesday evening and maintained that the tribesmen and militiamen had also exchanged artillery fire for some time in the area. “No loss of life was reported on our side in today’s fighting,” he said.

Over the last 24 hours a number of tribesmen have been arrested in Pat Feeder area and Sui, according to the JWP official.

“This morning we detected that miscreants had [on Monday night] targeted the pumping station of a water plant of Loti gas field and badly damaged it. If the damaged water plant is not repaired in three days then the supply of gas from Loti fields will stop,” said the district coordination officer in Dera Bugti, Abdul Samad Lasi.

The attack also destroyed the watchman room of the plant. Mr Lasi said the watchman had gone missing.