| Must be time for the Bugtis to hold a loya jirga... |
More than 2,500 paramilitary forces and regular troops took control of Sui after tribesmen fired hundreds of rockets, blowing up a gas pipeline and triggering a battle that left eight people dead, officials said on Wednesday. Authorities also shut the gas plant, saying gas was suspended to five industrial units because of the damage caused to a pipeline. They hoped that the supplies would be restored within the next 24 hours. Pakistan Army spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said troops and also helicopter gunships were being deployed in Sui."Our gas installations have national importance, and we are deploying troops in Sui to protect our facilities and the staff working there," he said. However, he refused to elaborate on how many troops had been sent there, although another official said about 1,000 soldiers and "some helicopter gunships" had reached Sui, and more were on their way to the area. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not say whether any army operation was being considered against the attackers. "Such details can't be shared with the media, but the troops are going to Sui to restore the writ of the government," he said.