• 12 lives lost after explosive-laden vehicle targets police post, two rescue officials die while transporting bodies
• President says operations against terrorists should be made ‘more effective’; PM condemns attack
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Fourteen people, including two rescue officials, were martyred and 35 sustained injuries on Saturday after a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a police checkpost and then targeted an ambulance shifting bodies to hospital.
Officials said a tractor-trolley filled with explosives was used to target the Aman Mela post, which is located in a residential area in tehsil Darazinda, and claimed the lives of 12 people — all civilians.
Regional Police Officer Mubashir Maken said police and other security officials remained safe in the attack, but the explosion claimed the life of a Customs official. The other martyrs included eight men, two women, and a minor.
According to local officials and residents, the explosion was so intense that it was heard over a considerable distance. Heavy fire was also heard following the blast. The Aman Mela checkpost, located near Mughal Kot and Darazinda on the D.I. Khan-Quetta Road, is used by police for security and checking along the route. It is situated close to the border between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
D.I. Khan District Police Officer (DPO) Ziauddin Ahmed confirmed that it was a suicide blast. The blast damaged much of the post and destroyed a house adjacent to it.
Ambulance comes under fire
Rescue 1122 said two of its workers were martyred while another was seriously injured when an ambulance transporting some bodies recovered from the blast site came under attack. The deceased rescue workers were identified as Sharifullah and Imtiaz, while Anees sustained injuries in the firing, said a Rescue 1122 spokesperson.
The injured worker was provided immediate medical treatment and taken to a hospital. Despite the heavy firing incident, rescue teams continued the operation to transport the bodies and assist those injured in the blast.
State broadcaster Radio Pakistan attributed the attack to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It reported that an operation by the security forces against the terrorists was underway.
KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi sought a report from senior officials on the incident and directed that every possible medical facility be provided to those injured.
President, PM condemn blast
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast and expressed grief over the lives lost.
In a statement issued by the Presidency, the president ordered that the best medical facilities be provided to the injured. “Making innocent citizens and law enforcement personnel a target of terrorism is highly condemnable,” he was quoted as saying.
“Operations against terrorists belonging to Fitna al-Hindustan and Fitna al-Khawarij, who perpetrate heinous acts with foreign support, must be made more effective.”
In a statement, PM Shehbaz condemned terrorist attack on the police checkpost and expressed deep sorrow and grief over loss of precious human lives in the blast.
He expressed heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families of the martyrs and prayed for speedy recovery of the injured.
“We will never let the sacrifices of the nation’s protectors go in vain in the war against terrorism,” he said, adding the government was determined to eradicate terrorism from the country.
In a statement issued by his ministry, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the “suicide blast at the anti-smuggling Aman Mela police checkpost” and expressed his condolences to the bereaved families.
“The cowardly acts of kharjis cannot weaken the nation’s firm resolve against terrorism,” he was quoted as saying, using a term the state employs to designate terrorists. “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is on the front lines of the fight against terrorism.”
Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2026
