PESHAWAR – Gunmen launched a brazen assault on a police station and customs office along the critical China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, leaving two security personnel dead and two others wounded. The Wednesday attack has heightened fears over the safety of this vital infrastructure project linking Pakistan to China.
Local reports indicate that armed militants stormed the Yarik police station and an adjacent customs facility, unleashing a barrage of automatic weapon fire. Police sources confirmed the fatalities: Customs officer Israr Khan and Constable Mohammad Bilal. The injured, identified as Hazrat Umar and Khayal Mohammad, were rushed to the district hospital’s trauma center for urgent treatment.
Eyewitnesses described chaos as attackers also targeted passenger buses transiting the CPEC route, sparking widespread panic. They set fire to a customs vehicle before security forces retaliated with heavy gunfire, forcing the assailants to flee. A massive police deployment quickly cordoned off the area, launching extensive search operations to track down the perpetrators.
This incident underscores the persistent security threats plaguing the CPEC corridor, a flagship initiative under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Just earlier this month, militants ambushed a police party in the nearby Wanda Budh area, killing four officers including a Station House Officer. On January 24, a suicide bombing at a wedding ceremony in the district claimed five lives, including a peace committee leader, and injured 10 others.
On the same day, Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department announced a separate success, claiming to have eliminated eight alleged terrorists in an intelligence-led operation. Three CTD personnel sustained injuries during the firefight, with weapons and ammunition recovered from the slain suspects. Authorities vow to intensify efforts against militancy, but the CPEC attack signals ongoing vulnerabilities in Pakistan’s restive northwest.