DERA GHAZI KHAN: Five students died on Thursday, when a speeding trailer ran over the motorcycle they were riding on Layya Road, Chowk Sarwar Shaheed tehsil, Kot Addu district.

According to Rescue 1122 officials, the students, belonging to the same extended Kashuk family, were on their way to their respective private educational institutions when their bike was run over by a speeding trailer near a filling station.

As a result, all of them died on the spot. They were identified as Abdullah (19), son of Zahid Iqbal, his brother Abdul Rehman (6), Muhammad Adil (15), son of Arif,Basit (17), son of Siddique and his sister Dua Fatima (9).

On being informed of the incident, police and Rescue 1122 teams reached the spot and shifted the bodies to the Kot Addu Tehsil Headquarters Hospital.

Kot Addu Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Bilal told Dawn that the trailer driver who had fled immediately after the accident has been arrested and a case registered against him for rash driving.

He said all five victims were riding the same bike on dilapidated Layya Road when the accident occurred.

He said that he had already written to the National Highway Authority (NHA) about the poor condition of the road that needed repairs, adding that since Kot Addu is a new district, its road infrastructure is not up to the mark.

Meanwhile, taking notice of the tragic incident, Regional Police Officer (RPO) Muhammad Azhar Akram has sought a report from the district police officer.

The police say that an investigation into the incident has been initiated. The RPO has also directed the traffic police to take strict action against those found driving rashly.

Locals, expressing their profound grief and anger over the incident, have demanded that there should be a strict enforcement of traffic rules in the area to avoid such tragic incidents in the future.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2026