Quetta, March 31 – Gas supply to Quetta and several districts in Pakistan's Balochistan province has been disrupted after unidentified assailants detonated the main gas pipeline in the Western Bypass area, local media reported on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) said, "An 18-inch diameter main gas pipeline was blown up by unknown individuals," adding that the incident occurred in the Akhtarabad area, according to Dawn, Pakistan's leading daily.
Police stated that armed men planted an explosive device under the gas pipeline and detonated it on Monday evening. A senior police officer said that gas supply to several parts of Quetta and Balochistan was suspended after the pipeline caught fire.
The SSGC spokesperson stated that gas supply was affected in Hazara town, Pishin, Ziarat, Kalat, Mastung, Hazarganji, Khaizi, Nohsar, and Kuchlak.
SSGC officials said, "A large portion of the gas pipeline was destroyed by the blast," adding that officials had reached the area, and pipeline repair work would begin after security clearance, as reported by Dawn.
Following the incident, a heavy contingent of security personnel was deployed at gas facilities in Quetta, as reported by Dawn.
Last week, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) claimed responsibility for a series of coordinated attacks targeting telecommunications infrastructure and a Frontier Corps (FC) post across Balochistan, reportedly causing casualties among security personnel and significant material damage, according to local media reports.
In a statement to the media, BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch said that the group's fighters carried out an operation on March 26 in the Bhawani area of Hub Chowki, where they set fire to and destroyed machinery at a mobile tower site, alleging that it was being used for surveillance.
According to the spokesperson, in a separate incident on March 22, BLF fighters launched rocket fire at an FC post in the Charfanok area of Shehrak in the Kech district, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
He further stated that in the same incident, machinery at a nearby Ufone telecommunications tower was also set on fire, rendering it inoperable.
Earlier on March 26, a blast targeting Pakistani forces in the Zarkho area of Daghari in the provincial capital, Quetta, resulted in casualties, as reported by The Balochistan Post, citing sources.
The explosion took place when army personnel on foot reached the site of an under-construction post.
Reports suggest that the number of casualties could not be independently verified.