Gas supply to Quetta and several districts in Pakistan's Balochistan province was disrupted after unidentified assailants blew up a main gas pipeline in the Akhtarabad area on Monday evening. An 18-inch section of the pipeline at Western Bypass was destroyed, causing fires and suspension of gas supply to Hazara Town, Pishin, Ziarat, Kalat, Mastung, Hazarganji, Khaizi, Nohsar, and Kuchlak. Officials said repair work would begin after security clearance, while a heavy contingent of security personnel has been deployed at gas facilities in Quetta.
The attack comes amid a surge in coordinated assaults by Baloch militant groups on Pakistani military and infrastructure. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for over 30 attacks targeting army camps, checkpoints, and convoys across Balochistan, including Jhal Magsi, Quetta, Mastung, Nushki, Washuk, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, and Kech, resulting in dozens of personnel killed and many injured.
In recent incidents, three security personnel were killed and four others injured in two separate attacks in Balochistan. Two police officers of the Eagle Squad were killed and three others injured during a motorcycle patrol in the Eastern Bypass area of Quetta, while armed assailants targeted the Kotra police station in Gandawah, Jhal Magsi, killing one personnel and injuring three others. Rockets and heavy weapons were reportedly used in the attack, prompting police to launch search operations for the attackers.
These incidents are part of a wider pattern of attacks on law enforcement across Pakistan's border provinces. Earlier in March, an assistant sub-inspector of the Elite Force, Bacha Yousaf Khan, was shot dead outside his residence in Gandigar, Upper Dir, while at least seven police personnel were killed in a blast near a police vehicle in the Bettani tribal area of Lakki Marwat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These attacks highlight the growing security threats faced by Pakistani forces in Balochistan and neighboring provinces.
(With inputs from IANS)
