Explosion near Rahim Yar Khan damages 3 gas pipelines

BRA claims responsibility while police evaluate evidence to determine exact nature of the blast.

ISLAMABAD: Three gas pipelines exploded near Rahim Yar Khan, cutting supplies to Punjab, an official from the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) said Monday.

SNGPL claims insurgents from Balochistan blew up the pipelines overnight. However, police have not yet verified if this was an attack or a result of negligence on the part of SNGPL maintenance team working in the area.

Most of the province is now without gas because of the explosion.

Police said they have gathered evidence from the site and waiting for the analysis report before they can confirm the exact nature of the explosion.

Ayub Bajwa, the emergency manager on duty for SNGPL in Islamabad, said this was the first time insurgents have blown all three pipelines simultaneously. "They used to just blow up one here or there," he said.

The pipelines are large - 24, 18 and 16 inches in diameter. It will take at least two days to repair them, Bajwa said.

During that time, millions of Pakistanis will be unable to heat their homes or run their factories.

Spokesperson for the banned Baloch Republican Army (BRA) Sarbaz Baloch said his group had blown up the pipelines near Rahim Yar Khan, about 600 km south of Islamabad.