Gunfire shattered the calm along Pakistan’s strategically crucial CPEC route in Dera Ismail Khan, where militants targeted a police station and customs office, killing two and wounding two on Wednesday. Situated in volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Yarik facilities serve as frontline defenses for the corridor connecting Gwadar port to China’s Xinjiang.
Official accounts reveal the assailants unleashed automatic fire on the Yarik police station and neighboring customs building. Customs official Israr Khan and Constable Mohammad Bilal succumbed to their injuries, while colleagues Hazrat Umar and Khayal Mohammad fought for life in the district hospital.
The horror extended to civilian buses on the CPEC path, which came under fire, alongside the torching of a customs vehicle—acts designed to sow maximum fear. Brave retaliatory fire from on-duty personnel repelled the attackers, who fled the scene. An immediate lockdown ensued, with search teams combing the hills for clues.
This follows a pattern of aggression: four policemen, led by an SHO, perished in an early-month ambush, and five died in a wedding blast in late January. Positively, CTD forces eliminated eight terrorists in a separate operation, recovering arms but losing three to injuries. As forensics teams analyze the CPEC scene, the incident spotlights the corridor’s exposure to insurgents, potentially jeopardizing Pakistan-China economic ties and demanding urgent fortification.