Quetta, July 14 (IANS) Two 220kV high-voltage transmission pylons were blown up by unknown armed men, leaving two other pylons partially damaged near the Uch Power Plant in Dera Murad Jamali, local media reported.
According to the police, the attack occurred late Monday and has resulted in the disruption of electricity supply to Quetta, Sibi, and several other parts of Balochistan, leading Pakistani daily Dawn reported.
The attack happened within the jurisdiction of the Notal Police Station. Explosive devices were planted on six transmission towers which carry electricity from Uch Power Plant to Quetta and Sibi.
Two pylons were completely destroyed and two partially damaged as the bomb disposal squad defused explosive devices planted on the remaining two pylons, said the police.
The area was cordoned off by Police and Frontier Corps personnel with a spokesman for the Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco) confirming that the 220kV transmission line from the Uch Power Plant was suspended, affecting Quetta, Sibi, and several other areas.
Last week, at least nine police personnel, including two Station House Officers (SHOs), were killed after armed assailants targeted a police post in Ziarat district of Pakistan's Balochistan province, local media reported.
The armed men targeted the police post on the night of July 6, Dawn reported, citing sources. A gunfight erupted between police and armed assailants for some time. But the armed men managed to enter the premises.
Ziarat Deputy Commissioner (DC) Abdul Qudoos Achakzai confirmed the number of casualties in the incident. He said that the whereabouts of five police personnel were still unknown, adding that additional police personnel have been dispatched to the site of the incident. He said that the operation was being conducted to find the missing police personnel.
The incident occurred amid a rise in attacks targeting law enforcement personnel in Pakistan, especially in the border provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
–IANS
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