Pakistan: 4 Chinese Engineers Killed in Balochistan Liberation Army's Attack in Gwadar | Exclusive

Four Chinese engineers and nine Pakistani Army personnel were killed in what is being termed as one of the biggest attacks by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in Gwadar region of Pakistan on Sunday, according to local sources.

The BLA claimed two fidayeens from its Majeed Brigade executed the attack. The Chinese Consulate in Karachi has issued a security alert for Chinese citizens in view of the attack.

Gwadar port is one of the focal points of the multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with many Chinese workers working at the port. China is investing heavily in Balochistan under the CPEC.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan military’s media wing, the operation was launched after the presence of terrorists in the area was reported. “The security forces have cordoned off the entire area [and] launched a search operation," the ISPR said.

THE CPEC

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng was in Pakistan capital in July to mark the 10th anniversary of the enormous economic plan that is the cornerstone of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Since its initiation in 2013, the CPEC has seen tens of billions of dollars funnelled into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects.

But the undertaking has also been hit by Pakistan struggling to keep up its financial obligations, as well as attacks on Chinese targets by militants.

Beijing granted Pakistan a two-year rollover on a $2.4 billion loan, giving the debt-saddled nation much-needed breathing space as it tackles a balance-of-payments crisis.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) report last year said China and its commercial banks held about 30 per cent of Pakistan’s total external debt.

ATTACKS IN BALOCHISTAN

Pakistan has seen an uptick in terror activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.

The TTP, also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007.

Last month, as many as 12 soldiers of the Pakistan Army were killed in separate military operations in the Zhob and Sui areas of Balochistan. This was the military’s highest single-day death toll from terrorist attacks reported this year.

Three Chinese academics and their Pakistani driver lost their lives when a woman suicide bomber activated her explosive device as they approached the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi in April last year. The responsibility for the attack was taken by the BLA.

A year prior, a lethal assault, attributed to Pakistan’s Taliban, resulted in the deaths of five individuals at a high-end hotel where the Chinese ambassador was staying in Quetta.

In 2021, a dozen individuals, including nine Chinese laborers, perished in an explosion on a bus transporting employees to the Dasu dam location.

With PTI Inputs