Gas supplies in Pakistan have again been disrupted after a pipeline ruptured following attempts to repair it.

Two pipelines were set ablaze on Tuesday night in the south-western province of Balochistan cutting supply to 2.2 million consumers.

The attack was blamed on local tribesmen.

Officials said they repaired the damage and resumed supplies on Thursday.

But one of the pipelines began leaking.

There was an explosion which injured eight people, one of whom was taken to hospital.

Gas company officials say it could take three to four days to repair the damaged pipeline completely.

Tribal problems

The pipelines were originally struck by rockets near Dera Bugti, 650 kilometres (400 miles) south-west of Islamabad.

The pipelines supply 55% of the country's gas, and the incident affected Punjab, the capital Islamabad and parts of North-West Frontier Province particularly badly.

A senior gas official told journalists in Islamabad that a meeting would be held on Saturday at which senior officials from Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab provinces would discuss the tribal feuds in their areas.

Security officials in Balochistan had said that Bugti tribesman fired the rockets in a deliberate act of sabotage after authorities cut off their electricity supplies because they had not paid their bills.

However, on Thursday they said the rockets may have hit the pipelines accidentally during a clash between the Bugtis and the rival Mazari tribe.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Paramilitary troops have been deployed to guard the pipelines.

Low temperatures

Affected consumers had to turn to coal, wood and kerosene oil for cooking and heating in temperatures close to zero.

Many were unable to cook or heat homes

The situation was particularly bad in northern parts of the country.

Hotels and restaurants had to close in Lahore and bakeries ran out of white bread.

In Islamabad, fuel stations turned away drivers desperately seeking compressed natural gas for their vehicles.

''I cannot afford to buy petrol, so I will return home empty and God knows what will happen tomorrow," said taxi driver Khurshid Ahmed.