KHAIRPUR, Jan 9: A watchman’s sense of duty helped foil what possibly was an attempt to blow up a pipeline supplying gas to Karachi, Hyderabad and six other cities when he raised alarm after spotting suspicious material near the pipeline in Tufail Jatt village of Faiz Ganj taluka late on Monday night.

Reports reaching here said that the watchman, an employee of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) spotted the material half-buried in a pit near the pipeline and promptly informed the officials concerned and police.

The material proved harmless on checking. It comprised a bunch of burnt electricity wires.

Police, however, cordoned off the village and mounted search with the help of sniffer dogs for the three suspects whose footprints were found near the material.

Saleem Mustafa Shaikh, operation engineer of SSGC headquarters, lodged an FIR at Faiz Ganj police station under Explosive Act stating that there was two foot deep pit dug up near the gas pipeline No. MP-147 in Tufail Jatt village and 60 foot long burnt pieces of wires were found in it.

The pipeline supplies gas to Karachi, Hyderabad, Sanghar and other parts of Sindh.