LAHORE, Feb 13: A gas pipeline was blown up at Kala Shah Kaku in Muridke on Sunday night in what the SNGPL termed a sabotage act. "It is an act of sabotage," SNGPL Deputy Managing Director Azam Khan told Dawn and said this was the third time in seven months that the line had been damaged.

It is difficult to accept that a 10-inche-diameter pipeline could be damaged automatically, he said. "Somebody must have hit it." However, Mr Khan said the SNGPL had resumed the gas supply to the most of the areas except for an area of 12 or 13kms, which housed industries in Muridke and Gujranwala Road.

He said repair work was under way on the site, and the remaining supply would be in a few hours.