DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A dozen people lost their lives while 35 others were injured on Saturday when a vehicle laden with explosives was rammed into the Aman Mela police checkpost in Dera Ismail Khan’s Darazinda tehsil, officials said.
DI Khan Regional Police Officer (RPO) Ghulam Mubashir Maken, citing an initial assessment, confirmed the casualties. He clarified that no law enforcement or security personnel were among the deceased, which included a Customs official and civilians.
The deceased comprised nine men, two women and a minor.
According to police and Rescue 1122 officials, an unidentified attacker rammed the explosives-laden tractor trolley into the checkpost. DI Khan District Police Officer (DPO) Ziauddin Ahmed confirmed that it was a suicide blast.
The blast destroyed a large portion of the checkpost and completely demolished a house adjacent to the post. The intensity of the explosion was such that it was heard over a considerable distance, according to local officials and residents. Heavy firing was also heard following the blast.
The Aman Mela checkpost, located near Mughal Kot and Darazinda on the DI 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.
According to RPO Maken, 25 of the injured were being taken to the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital. Meanwhile, District Excise Officer Faheem Wazir said Excise personnel present at the checkpost remained safe.
A bomb disposal team was also sent to the site to determine the nature of the explosion and examine the scene, police said.
DPO Ahmed and the superintendent of police for the Saddar area had reached the site soon after the explosion and supervised the rescue operation. A Rescue 1122 spokesperson noted that their teams were on the site for relief operations, but mobile phone services were unavailable in the area.
More than 25 personnel, six ambulances and a fire vehicle took part in the relief operations, according to the rescue service. On the directions of District Emergency Officer (DEO) Mohammad Arif Khan, four additional ambulances with staff were dispatched from DI Khan to assist in evacuating the injured.
Governor seeks report
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.
“The attack is a nefarious conspiracy by Fitna al-Hindustan Khawarij,” the governor said.
The state refers to designated Balochistan-based groups as Fitna al Hindustan to highlight India’s role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan, and uses the term Fitna al Khawarij for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the blast in a statement issued by the Presidency and expressed grief over the lives lost.
The president ordered that the best medical facilities be provided to the injured, and that relief operations be made “more effective”.
“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 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.”
Naqvi noted that people from all walks of life have made sacrifices against terrorism, adding that the state deeply values the sacrifices of martyrs.
Rise in terrorism
KP has witnessed an increase in terrorist activity in recent months, with law enforcement agencies and security forces being targeted, prompting authorities to intensify counterterrorism operations.
Earlier this month, police said they foiled an attack by TTP terrorists on a checkpost in DI Khan’s Daraban area. No casualties were reported among the police personnel.
On Sept 18, a major attack in the old Police Lines in KP’s Kohat claimed 23 lives and injured about 100 others. Eight terrorists were killed during an overnight clearance operation.
In response to that and other terrorist incidents, Pakistan days later conducted “calibrated” airstrikes in the border region with Afghanistan against terrorist hideouts, with the government saying over 28 terrorists were eliminated.
Mainland KP, excluding the merged districts, recorded 54 terrorist attacks in August compared with 36 in July, representing an increase of 50 per cent, according to monthly data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).
