Convoy of Chinese engineers attacked in Pakistan's Gwadar

QUETTA - Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) separatists attacked a convoy carrying Chinese engineers to the Beijing-financed Gwadar Port in Pakistan's southwest on Sunday, the group said.

Various Baloch militant groups have claimed attacks on projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in the past, with thousands of security personnel deployed to counter threats against Beijing's interests.

"BLA Majeed Brigade today targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers in Gwadar. The attack is still ongoing," the separatist group said in a statement.

Security sources confirmed an attack, but there was no immediate official response.

However, Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, a senator and former provincial interior minister, said on Twitter, now rebranded as X, that no Chinese nationals were killed in the attack.

"I strongly condemn the heinous terror attack on Chinese workers convoy in Gwadar," he posted.

"Thankfully, no loss of life happened, but there are reports that the ambush has been repulsed and the attackers have been killed." State Radio Pakistan, citing the military's public relations wing, said the situation was under control.

"One terrorist was killed and three others injured in exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in Gwadar," it said.

Baloch separatists frequently exaggerate their battlefield successes, while the Pakistan military's public relations department also plays down attacks, or delays reporting them.

Three Chinese academics and their Pakistani driver were killed when a woman suicide bomber detonated her device as they were driving into the University of Karachi's Confucius Institute in April 2022.

The BLA claimed responsibility for that attack.

A year earlier, five people were killed in an attack claimed by Pakistan's Taliban at a luxury hotel hosting the Chinese ambassador in Quetta.

Also in 2021, 12 people - including nine Chinese workers - were killed by a blast aboard a bus carrying staff to the Dasu dam site.

Islamabad blamed that explosion on a "gas leak" but Beijing insisted it was a bomb attack.

Balochistan is Pakistan's least populous province but rich in mineral resources.

Baloch people have long complained they do not get a fair share of the province's profits, giving rise to more than a dozen separatist groups.

The CPEC project is the cornerstone of Beijing's massive Belt and Road Initiative and seeks to link China's western Xinjiang province to Gwadar port in the southwest.

Since its initiation, CPEC has seen tens of billions of dollars funnelled into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng was in the Pakistan capital last month to mark the 10th anniversary of the project. - AFP