KARACHI, 9 August 2006 — Gas supply to Pakistan’s port city of Karachi was disrupted after a pipeline was damaged in an explosion at Gopat in Balochistan province, a TV channel reported.
An explosive planted at Gopat, near Sui, a border town close to Punjab and Sindh, severely damaged the pipeline, the GEO TV reported.
The explosion came just days after a pipeline near Sui, supplying gas to the neighboring province Punjab, was blasted. Though officials have reached the scene, the repair work of the damaged pipeline could not be started, said the report.
Government installations, gas pipelines and electricity lines in Balochistan have been targeted by local anti-government tribesmen, who are demanding more political rights from the administration and control over local energy resources.Suspected rebel tribesmen used explosives to blow up section of the gas pipeline, an official said.
No one was reported injured in the explosion. About one-foot portion of the pipeline with a diameter of 30 inches was ruptured in the blast near Sui, said Abdul Samad Lasi, the top government official in the area.
