Heavily armed terrorists forcibly entered the Gwadar Port Authority Complex today and opened fire as multiple explosions were reported in the port area in Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan province, media reports said.
Citing Makran Commissioner Saeed Ahmed Umrani, Dawn.com reported that a large contingent of police and security forces reached the scene while an intense firing was underway.
Security forces foiled the attack on the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) complex and killed eight attackers, the Express Tribune newspaper reported, citing sources. The attackers were killed as they tried to enter the port complex, it said.
Majeed Brigade of the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack, the report said.
Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
Thousands of Chinese personnel are working in Pakistan on several projects under the aegis of the CPEC.
The separatist BLA is opposed to China’s investments in Balochistan and accuses China and Pakistan of exploiting the resource-rich province.
The attack comes on a day when Pak Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asserted his government would not tolerate any acts of cross-border terrorism.
According to an annual security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, a think tank, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023 – marking a six-year high record.
