Once again, Balochistan’s highways have turned into death traps. In Panjgur, a passenger coach collided with an oil tanker, sparking a fire that killed nine people, including families traveling home. On the Quetta–Zhob highway, another crash claimed four more lives. These tragedies are becoming all too common — and at the heart of this deadly cycle lies a recurring menace: the Iranian-made Zamyad trucks, locally known as Zambads.
For years, Zambads have roamed Balochistan’s roads unchecked. Built for cargo transport, they are now overloaded with smuggled Iranian fuel, driven recklessly, and involved in one fatal accident after another. In Washuk last year, two Zambads collided head-on, killing four. In 2023, a Portuguese tourist was killed in Chagai after being struck by one. In each case, authorities promised “investigations,” yet nothing changed.
The truth is simple: Zambads are unsafe, unfit for highways, and a menace to public safety. Their right-hand-drive structure, lack of roadworthiness, and frequent overloading make them ticking time bombs. Add to this the culture of smuggling and over-speeding, and the result is carnage.
The government’s silence on this matter is criminal. By allowing Zambads to dominate Balochistan’s highways, the government is effectively endorsing a parallel, unregulated transport economy where lives are expendable. Smuggling networks profit, while ordinary citizens bury their dead.
This must end. The government must impose a blanket ban on Zambads operating on national highways, with immediate effect. Border trade should be regulated through licensed, roadworthy carriers — not contraband-loaded death machines. Police and highway authorities must be empowered to seize unsafe vehicles on sight, and smuggling mafias that fuel this trade must be dismantled.
Balochistan already suffers from poor infrastructure, insurgency, and economic neglect. Adding Zambads to this volatile mix is state negligence of the highest order. The choice is stark: either regulate the roads, or prepare for more mass funerals.
How many more lives must be sacrificed before the government acknowledges the obvious? Zambads are not transport — they are weapons of destruction. Ban them now.
