DERA GHAZI KHAN, Feb 11: A pipeline carrying crude oil from Karachi for the Parco refinery was blown up near Kot Chutta in Muzaffargarh district on Friday morning.

Police said a time bomb had been placed near the valve assembly of the 26-inch main oil pipeline, which went off at 7:30am.

When the authorities closed oil supply from the Fazilpur valve assembly, 70,000 litres of crude had already been wasted. The damaged terminal is guarded by four watchmen but no one was present at the time of blast.

The pipeline has watch rooms after every 10km. The Kot Chutta police have registered a case against unidentified saboteurs under Section 3 of the Explosive Act and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. It was the fourth incident of sabotage during the last 12 days in the area. The responsibility for the attacks was claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army.

District Police Officer Salman Chaudhry said the Pak-Arab Company had been told to raise security arrangements around its installations. Later, a Parco official said the oil supply had been restored at 11:15pm after repair of the pipeline.