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Monday, January 31, 2011

Twin suicide attacks: Kohat Tunnel re-opens following blast

Source Express Tribune

Kohat Tunnel, closed following two bomb blasts that ripped through it on Friday, was reopened for 24 hours on Saturday evening.


Commissioner Kohat division Khalid Khan Umerzai told The Express Tribune that the tunnel was opened for passenger vehicles for around 24 hours. Cargo vehicles, however, will not be allowed to pass through the tunnel.

At least five people were killed and 19 others injured when two explosives-laden trucks were detonated by suicide bombers, one inside the tunnel and the other at its entrance. The attackers had entered the tunnel from the Darra Adamkhel side, Umerzai said.

Local sources said that the two attacks that occurred at 12:30am on Saturday, badly damaged the Pak-Japan Friendship Tunnel, which links the southern districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with Peshawar.

They said that the first blast occurred some 600 metres inside the tunnel when a Bedford truck was detonated by a suicide attacker.

The second truck, an oil tanker, was detonated on the checkpost outside the tunnel, unmanned at the time.

According to Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) officials’ estimate, the two trucks carried at least 1,000 kilograms of explosives. Twelve vehicles, including cars, were caught in the blast and destroyed.

“We have sent the material we collected to forensic labs for further analysis,” a BDU official said.

The blast left a three-foot-deep and 18-foot-wide crater inside the tunnel. The electricity, drainage and exhaust systems of the tunnel were also damaged.

The dead include two women Khatma Bibi and Taliba Bibi, residents of Nasapa in Karak district, Badshah Rehman from North Waziristan, and an Afghan refugee. The last person was not identified till last reports came in.

The injured were shifted to the Kohat and Peshawar hospitals following the blasts and senior civilian and military officials rushed to the scene and closed the tunnel for all kinds of traffic.

Kohat Tunnel, also known as Pak-Japan Friendship Tunnel, is Pakistan’s longest road tunnel and the second longest tunnel after the Khojak Tunnel and is situated on Indus Highway. The Rs5 billion tunnel was opened to traffic in June 2003.

This is second time in the past few years that militants have targeted the tunnel. Earlier during Operation Eagle Swoop in January 2007, Taliban militants captured the tunnel and detonated explosives-laden vehicles inside it.

Following that attack, traffic was not allowed to pass through the tunnel at night. The tunnel was reopened to traffic at night only two months back.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

kohat tunnel closed

kohat tunnel has been closed due to bomb blast in the tunnel. Due to this blast four people were killed in vehicle carrying expolsives.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Soldier, five militants killed in Orakzai

Source The News

A soldier and five militants were killed in Dabori area of Orakzai Agency on Thursday, official sources said. The sources said the militants shot dead Sepoy Noorul Wahab with sniper gun at a hilltop security post. The sources said the security forces launched search operation and fired with heavy artillery at the hideouts of the militants in the mountainous area after the incident. At least five militants were killed in the counter-attack, the sources added.

Monday, January 24, 2011

MOL Pakistan suspends operations on Maramzai oil and gas well

Source Daily Times

MOL Pakistan has immediately suspended production operations on the Maramzai oil and gas well after its convoy was ambushed near Kohat last evening.


In a statement issued here, the management of MOL with profound grief announced the death of six persons including four FC guards, one contractor driver and one local labour as its convoy was ambushed by unknown miscreants on the way back to Central Processing Facility (CPF) from Maramzai site on Thursday evening.

The miscreants also abducted two people one driver and one specialist from contractor as one guard sustained injuries when firing ensued.

MOL Pakistan has immediately suspended production operations on the Maramzai due to security concerns resulting in suspension of 40 MMSCFD gas and 1600 barrel oil per day production and has withdrawn all personnel from the well site forthwith in order to avoid any further human loss.

Janos Feher, Managing Director of the company in his condolence message to all company employees and bereaved families expressed profound grief over this unfortunate development. “We all wish we could undo what happened and bring those back who embraced martyrdom in the line of duty,” he said. The Managing Director stated a strong demand has been put forward to the federal and provincial government to provide safe and secure working conditions and requested the government to take all necessary measures for the timely release of abductees.

On October 15, 2009, MOL announced that it had made a new (forth) discovery of gas and condensate on Maramzai-1 well in the Tal Block, located in the Northern Western Frontier Province of Pakistan. The production of Maramzai-1 well is 1.1 million cum/day (38.3 MMscfd; 6.4 th boe/day) gas and 228 cum/day (1,434 bbl/day) condensate at 220 bar (3,197 psig) flowing wellhead pressure through 48/64” choke. The production rates can improve further after acid stimulation of two limestone reservoirs in the well. After that the consortium will be conducting further extended tests to evaluate the size and economic potential of the reserves. Further information will be provided in due course.



Hydrocarbon exploration has been carried out in this block since 1999 by a consortium of companies including Oil and Gas Development Co. Ltd (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (POL) and Government Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd (GHPL) with MOL as an Operator of this Joint Venture. MOL has a 10% interest in the consortium.



Exploration activity resulted in the first discovery (Manzalai-1 well) in December 2002. After seismic acquisitions performed in 2003 the consortium decided to drill a new exploratory well (Makori-1 well) in 2004. The drilling was successful; MOL announced the discovery in January 2005. MOL made its third discovery of gas and condensate in the Tal Block (Mami Khel-1 well) in March 2008.



Zoltán Áldott, Exploration and Production Executive Vice President of MOL had termed this as “This discovery has further strengthened our confidence in the potential of the Tal block, which already is seen as a major source of energy for Pakistan in the future. Due to the already existing infrastructure this well will be put on production on a fast track by summer 2010.”

Saturday, January 22, 2011

7, including five FC men, killed in Kohat attack

Source Daily Times


Five Frontier Constabulary personnel, a foreign oil and gas exploration company’s driver and guard were killed on Thursday after suspected terrorists kidnapped two engineers of the foreign company in Kohat district, police sources said. The loss of five FC personnel followed an attack on the vehicle carrying the MOL Company’s engineers in Lachi tehsil, police sources in Kohat told Daily Times. “The attackers took away two MOL Company’s engineers after the attack on the vehicle that was coming back from exploration in the Karak district,” they added. Two FC soldiers were reported injured in the crossfire. abdul saboor khan


Monday, January 10, 2011

Seized explosives disposed of in Kohat

Source Dawn

The bomb disposal squad (BDS) on Saturday destroyed huge quantity of explosives and ammunition after completion of trials against terrorists in various courts.


The additional district and sessions judge had handed over the consignment to the BDS for disposal at a safer place.

The BDS took the consignment to mountains of Lachi and exploded them underground. They consignment included 54 mortars, 86kg of explosives, 97 mortars, three detonators, 40 rocket head fuses, 25 meters detonating card, eight meters safety fuses and 132 fireworks.

Meanwhile, Fayaz Khan took charge as district police officer, Kohat, in place of Dilawar Khan Bangash, who was posted DPO Dera Ismail Khan.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Recovery of kidnapped official, his driver sought

Source The News

Relatives of Fayyazur Rahman, the kidnapped official of foreign oil and gas exploration company, MOL, and his driver, Said Kalam, have demanded their safe recovery.


Talking to reporters here Wednesday, Mohammad Suleman and Ataullah said their relative Fayyazur Rahman and his driver Said Kalam had been kidnapped from somewhere in Kohat and Hangu areas.

They added that they had no enmity with anyone and demanded coordinated efforts for their safe release. They said their families were extremely disturbed due to the kidnapping. “We are passing through difficult times. We are hoping that efforts are being made to get them recovered,” Mohammad Suleman said.

Two killed in Karak

Source Dawn

A land dispute claimed two lives in Sabirabad here on Tuesday. Police said that two rival groups opened fire on each other over a dispute on a piece of land and as a result Haq Nawaz and Gul Rahim of same family of Ghundi Mir Khankhel were killed on the spot. Sabirabad police registered FIR against the accused.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Three die in road mishap

Source The News

Three persons were killed in a road mishap when a car collided with a truck here Thursday. A Kohat-bound car (LXL-911) collided with a truck (C-2683) near Ranginabad Bridge on the Indus Highway. As a result, three persons were killed and three others were injured. The dead were identified as Noor Jehan, Roshan Bibi and driver Muhammad Gul.