SUKKUR: An attempt to blow up rail track along Unnar Wah (irrigation channel) near Thull town of Jacobabad district was foiled on Tuesday, police said.

They said that some villagers informed them about explosive material planted under the rail track and specified the location.DSP Shah said that the Peshawar-bound (up) Khushal Khan Khttack Express was to pass through the targeted track. The train was halted at the Jacobabad station for three hours, i.e. until the track was cleared. The Karachi-bound (down) service of the same train was halted at the Kandhkot station, he said.

Thull DSP Syed Asghar Ali Shah told the media that rail traffic on the section was suspended and the bomb disposal squad (BDS) from Larkana was called in.

He said that the squad led by Imam Din Jagirani safely defused the explosives and thoroughly examined the site before declaring the site clear.

According to the BDS, it was a five-kilo device planted at the site to blow up the track.

The timely detection and defusing of the device saved the train from a disaster, he said.

He said three activists, Munir Sarki, Qurban Kunrani and another suspect belonging to the Bugti tribe, were arrested and booked.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2014