Train services on both up and down tracks in all affected cities were suspended immediately after the explosions. –Photo by APP (file photo)

KARACHI: Suspected militants blew up railway tracks at four sites in Pakistan's southern province of Sindh early Friday, disrupting train services, officials said.

Two people were injured when two small bombs damaged the tracks near the Baloch Colony bridge area in Karachi, DawnNews reported. However, no casualties were reported in the explosions in Hyderabad, Nawabshah and Mehrabpur districts.

The explosions appeared to be coordinated attacks, police and railway officials said.

“Two low-intensity bombs planted on both the up and down railway tracks went off outside Karachi early morning, causing damage to the tracks,” senior police officer Chaudhry Asad told AFP.

Train services were suspended and repair work had begun, he said.

About 30 minutes later two more blasts damaged railway tracks near near the Hussainabad area in Hyderabad, Pakistan Railways official Aftab Memon said.

Two additional blasts on tracks were reported from Nawabshah, between the Nawaz Dahri and Sarhari Railway stations and another two in the Sindh area of Mehrabpur, he said.

“All these blasts were similar in nature, causing damage to the track,” he said.

Home ministry official Sharfuddin Memon blamed militants for the attacks, AFP reports.

“These attacks are linked to the situation in northwest Pakistan and the aim was to target communications networks and create panic among the people,” he said.

Pakistan suffers near-daily attacks blamed on Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants, who are most active in the lawless tribal belt of northwest Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan.

A teenage suicide bomber killed up to 31 Pakistani army recruits at a parade ground on Thursday, an attack the Taliban said was revenge for US drone strikes and local military offensives.

However, attacks by the extremists on infrastructure such as railways are relatively rare.

Opinion

Editorial

Rigging claims
Updated 04 May, 2024

Rigging claims

The PTI’s allegations are not new; most elections in Pakistan have been controversial, and it is almost a given that results will be challenged by the losing side.
Gaza’s wasteland
04 May, 2024

Gaza’s wasteland

SINCE the start of hostilities on Oct 7, Israel has put in ceaseless efforts to depopulate Gaza, and make the Strip...
Housing scams
04 May, 2024

Housing scams

THE story of illegal housing schemes in Punjab is the story of greed, corruption and plunder. Major players in these...
Under siege
Updated 03 May, 2024

Under siege

Whether through direct censorship, withholding advertising, harassment or violence, the press in Pakistan navigates a hazardous terrain.
Meddlesome ways
03 May, 2024

Meddlesome ways

AFTER this week’s proceedings in the so-called ‘meddling case’, it appears that the majority of judges...
Mass transit mess
03 May, 2024

Mass transit mess

THAT Karachi — one of the world’s largest megacities — does not have a mass transit system worth the name is ...