MULTAN, March 1: An official of paramilitary force deputed to guard the Sui-Guddu gas pipeline in Mazari Goth village of Rajanpur district, was killed and seven others were injured when their vehicle hit a landmine.

Their names are: Muhammad Amjad, Bin Yamin, Aslam, Idrees, Akram, Manzoor and driver Haq Nawaz alias Kashu Mazari.

Seven Rangers’ men, along with a Mazari, Kashu Khan, who was driving the vehicle the authorities had forcibly impounded from him for Rangers’ duty, were on a patrol duty to guard the gas pipeline near Dauli area which was attacked twice in January.

Rajanpur District Coordination Officer Samiullah Abid told Dawn that the site of the landmine blast was only a few yards away from the gas pipeline. He said the blast took the life of Naik Muhammad Yousaf who hailed from Sargodha.

The injured were taken to a rest house near Shahwali police checkpoint on Dera Morr instead of providing them with medical care at any of the area hospitals. Dr Naseer of the Rojhan tehsil headquarters hospital has been deputed to look after the injured at the rest house. No one is being allowed to see the injured.

DCO Samiullah Abid said there was no doubt that the landmine had been planted in recent days because no such incident had happened when there had been an excessive vehicular movement in the area owing to the repair work of the damaged pipelines in January.

Informed sources in the area said that the authorities had also engaged sleuths to track footsteps of possible saboteurs and found that they led to adjoining Dera Bugti district of Balochistan.

The footsteps revealed that the culprits came to their targeted area on foot after parking their 4x4 vehicles a few kilometres away.

The sources further said that the Bugti tribesmen had also dug in trenches and dumped arms alongside the Punjab border since the deployment of Rangers.

On the other hand, the police have reportedly started rounding up Mazari tribesmen from the Mazari Goth after the killing of the Rangers’ official in the landmine blast. So far, more than 10 Mazaris have been arrested by the Shahwali police, including Yara, Moriya, Mian Khan, Mir Hazar and Asad.

Talking to Dawn, Rojhan Tehsil Nazim Sardar Rafiq Azam Mazari condemned the police for victimising innocent Mazari tribesmen after failing to bring real culprits to the book. He urged the government to settle its dispute with the Bugtis because the Mazaris did not want to become scapegoats in this fighting.

The Nazim said two Mazaris were killed in a landmine blast on Feb 24 last and one was in critical condition now in the Rangers custody but still the authorities were punishing the Mazaris.

Ghulam Mustafa Mazari and Abdul Salam Mazari lost their lives on Monday last when the motorcycle they were riding on hit a landmine near Mazari Goth. The Mazaris were coming from a nearby village to inquire after the safety of their relatives in the Mazari Goth as some Bugti tribesmen had attacked them a few hours ago with lethal weapons, including RPGs.