Pakistan: Terrorists Blowing Up Gas Pipelines

In the early hours on Wednesday, 10th April, 2013 perpetrators blew up 16 inch diameter high pressure gas transmission pipeline in Jafarabad District of Baluchistan  This was the sixth sabotage activity which took place since 16th March this year.

This transmission line owned by of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) is commonly known as Indus Left Bank Pipeline (ILBP) that supplies gas to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL), responsible for the distributing gas to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunistan provinces.

It is necessary to point out that perpetrators have once again become active in Baluchistan and are especially targeting electricity and gas transmission networks. These people not only wish to terrorize people of Baluchistan to keep them away from election process but also want to bring economic activities in the country to grinding halt.

The objective is to create conditions whereby election could not be held in the province. The sabotage activities are also aimed at suspending work on Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, which has just started in Pakistan. The United States has repeatedly warned Pakistan not to go ahead with the project; else economic sanctions can also be imposed.

It has been often apprehended that the perpetrators operating in Baluchistan are supplied funds and arms by some external elements and fingers are often raised at United States, India and even Israel. Though, none of these countries will ever accept that they have been godfathering the perpetrators, there are enough reasons to believe the allegations.

First and the top most important, the stories of sabotage, unrest and weakening government writ are spread to keep oil and gas exploration companies away from the province. India has bidden farewell to Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline on the security reasons.

This factor also mars prospects of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline becoming a reality. India is deadly against these two pipeline projects on the grounds that it will have to pay Pakistan millions of dollars transit fee and also that it (Pakistan) will get control over gas being supplies to India.

A question arises, why the external powers want to construct their hideouts and operate from Baluchistan province of Pakistan? The reply is simple, not to give a chance to Pakistan to become a corridor for trade and energy supplies.

These powers also want to undermine importance of Gwadar port located in Baluchistan  If peace is restored in the province and transit goods (including energy products) start moving through Gwadar port, it will be a setback for Chabahar port constructed by India in Iran.

Terrorist chose Baluchistan mainly because it has a coastal front of about 1,250 kilometers, which is mostly uninhibited. Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan in terms of area but has the lowest population, mainly concentrated in few areas. This makes the province an ideal place for constructing hideouts and training facilities for the terrorists. One could still recall name of a banned outfit, Jundullah based in Baluchistan.

Jundullah used to wear two caps, in Pakistan it was known as nationalist outfit fighting for the rights of Baloch and in Iran fighting for the rights of Sunnis, in other words its sole objective was to create unrest, kill people and sabotage private and public property. It got a big jolt when its chief was hanged in Iran and it was forced to go into hibernation.

However, those who wish to create unrest in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran have once again organized themselves and are operating from Baluchistan  If any action is taken against the perpetrators, their godfathers start the propaganda that ‘poor Balochs are being victimized’ and also start demanding an independent Baluchistan.