KARACHI: A series of small bomb blasts on upcountry railway tracks in different places in Sindh disrupted train services from Karachi to other parts of the country on Friday morning.
Six low-intensity blasts in Karachi, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Ghotki and Panu Aqil damaged the tracks and brought train services to a complete halt for many hours. The train services were restored on Friday evening after railway engineers finished repairs.
Pakistan Railways officials said that trains including the Awam Express, Hazara Express, Khyber Mail, Karachi Express, Taizgam and Bahauddin Zakaria Express were stopped at different stations after the blasts in Karachi, Hyderabad and Nawabshah.
Three people were injured in two blasts that occurred near Baloch Colony in Karachi on up and down tracks.
The injured were identified as Ghulamudin, Sarwar and Bunyad, who were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC). The blasts occurred within a short span of time. “The blast near Hussainabad area in Hyderabad occurred 30 minutes after the blasts in Karachi,” Aftab Memon, Divisional Superintendent of Pakistan Railways, Karachi told Pakistan Today. The blast in Nawabshah occurred between Nawaz Dahri and Sarhari railway stations.
Qazi Mimatullah an office-bearer of Railways Workers Union from Sukkur, told Pakistan Today that the attacks were aimed at worsening the law and order situation in the country.
He said that the negligence of the railway police allowed terrorists to plant the bombs on the tracks. “It is the duty of the railway police to keep patrolling the tracks. Two policemen are supposed to patrol four kilometres of the track,” he said. It is pertinent to mention here that unidentified men had also fired rockets on a train in Balochistan on late Thursday night and injured its driver.
According to sources, no group has so far claimed the responsibility for the blasts, but security officials suspect involvement of banned militant groups.
