QUETTA: Traffic between Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad was suspended on Saturday after a landslide blocked the Zhob-Dera Ismail Khan Highway near the Daraband area of Sherani district of Balochistan.

Officials said the landslide occurred suddenly after the Suleman Mountain Range received heavy rainfall a few days earlier, triggering massive rock and mudslides in the area. “Heavy boulders and mud blocked the highway, suspending all kinds of vehicular traffic from both sides, an official said.

Hundreds of vehicles, including passenger coaches, buses and loaded trucks, were stranded on both sides of the Daraband area. “The local administration has closed the road to traffic until the debris and boulders are completely removed from the highway,” officials added.

Upon receiving information, teams from the National Highway Authority (NHA), Sherani district administration, and police reached the site and launched an operation to clear the blocked highway.

The Sherani administration has advised the public to avoid travelling on the Quetta–Zhob–Dera Ismail Khan Highway until the road is reopened.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2025