PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Mian Iftikhar Hussain has condemned the suicide attack on the Aman Mela checkpost in Darazinda, Dera Ismail Khan, in which 12 people including excise officials were reportedly killed and more than 20 others injured.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, Mr Hussain described the loss of lives as highly tragic and deplorable, saying the repeated incidents of violence had made the law and order situation in the province extremely alarming.

He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been turned into a “powder keg” and people were being forced to carry coffins almost every day.

The ANP leader criticised the federal and provincial governments, alleging that they were watching the deteriorating security situation in the province instead of taking effective measures to control it.

He said the provincial government was busy organising protests, while the federal government was focused on preventing those. “The peace of KP and protection of its people do not appear to be among the priorities of either government,” he alleged.

Mr Hussain said terrorism continued to claim lives, while the governments remained engaged in what he described as political theatrics.

Referring to road blockades imposed in the province over the past several days, he said KP had effectively been cut off from the rest of the country, while the governments were not paying attention to the plight of people already facing the threat of terrorism.

He claimed that incidents of terrorism had increased from Waziristan to Bajaur and Khyber, while the governments were busy shifting responsibility onto each other.

Mr Hussain called for an end to leaving the people of KP at the mercy of terrorists. He said mere statements and condemnations were not enough to combat terrorism and called for a clear, coordinated and effective strategy against terrorists, their facilitators and support networks.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2026