District Police Officer (DPO) Killa Abdullah Sajid Mohmand and his guard lost their lives in a blast near Boghra Road in Balochistan's Chaman area on Monday morning, police said.
Balochistan government spokesperson Anwarul Haq Kakar said at least 11 other people ─ including police officials and passers-by ─ were injured in the blast which struck a vehicle carrying the police chief and two of his guards in the main bazaar.
"We are investigating into the nature of the blast", he said.
DPO Sajid Mohmand, who was critically wounded in the blast, succumbed to his injuries shortly after the blast.
Although initial reports suggested the blast was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device, police sources later said it was a suicide attack targeting the vehicle, DawnNews reported.
In the moments following the explosion, an emergency was declared in hospitals and law enforcement and rescue officials rushed to the site of the attack and cordoned off the area.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti condemned the attack. Nisar sought a report probing the incident, Radio Pakistan reported.
Chaman is considered a sensitive town in Balochistan as it shares a border with Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province.
