Karachi, March 21: At least two soldiers of the Pakistani Army were killed and eight Baloch terrorists were "sent to hell" when security personnel foiled an attempt by heavily armed Baloch insurgents to storm the Gwadar Port Authority complex in the restive Balochistan province, the military has said. The port complex hosts several government and paramilitary offices and the strategically located Gwadar Port remains one of the focal points of the billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Project.

A press release from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, said a group of terrorists attempted to enter the Port Authority Colony but were successfully thwarted by security forces personnel on Wednesday. Terror Attack in Pakistan: TTP Militants Kill Six Pakistani Policemen Going to Escort Polio Vaccination Team.

“Own troops employed for security responded immediately and effectively engaged the terrorists, and in ensuing fire exchange, all eight terrorists were sent to hell," the statement said late on Wednesday. Two sepoys were killed in the exchange of fire, the statement said. A large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives was also recovered from the possession of the militants from the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting the USD 60 billion CPEC projects. The BLA is opposed to China's investments in Balochistan and accuses Beijing and Islamabad of exploitation of the resource-rich province, a charge rejected by the authorities. Terror Attack in Pakistan: At least Four People, Including Three Policemen Killed After Terrorist Attack Toll Plaza in Kohat, Say Police.

Thousands of Chinese personnel are working in Pakistan on several projects being carried out under the aegis of the CPEC. BLA's Majeed Brigade, which was formed in 2011, is a particularly lethal guerilla cell of the BLA. It was named after a guard of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was killed while attempting to assassinate the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) founder.

It has been alleged that the group also maintains sanctuaries in areas along the Pak-Iran border. The brigade, which is the suicide squad of the BLA, mostly targets security forces and Chinese interests in Pakistan. It also claimed responsibility for the April 2022 suicide attack outside the Karachi University's Confucius Institute.

The outfit had also claimed responsibility for three coordinated attacks launched using rockets and sophisticated weapons in Balochistan's Mach town in January, some 70 kilometres from the provincial capital of Quetta. The attack comes on a day when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asserted that his government will not tolerate any acts of cross-border terrorism.

Gwadar Senior Superintendent of Police Captain (retd) Zohaib Mohsin said the situation is now under control. A large contingent of police and security forces had arrived at the scene when the intense firing was ongoing, he added. A statement from the United Nations Department for Safety and Security said “several explosions followed by continuous firing” were reported during the attack on the complex.

The statement confirmed there were no immediate reports of civilian casualties, elaborating that seven personnel from three UN agencies based in Gwadar and two UN agencies on missions were “safe and accounted for”. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, commending the security forces for thwarting the attack, appreciated the valour and professional skills of the personnel and officers of the police and security forces. He paid tribute to the soldiers who laid down their lives during the operation, the PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

Shehbaz further said those trying to target Gwadar and Balochistan wanted to interrupt the process for the country's economic prosperity and vowed to foil all internal and external conspiracies with the help of the people. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti hailed security and law enforcement officials for their response against the attackers and said “the message is loud and clear” that “whosoever chooses to use violence will see no mercy from the state”.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in the past year, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan after the banned militant Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outfit ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. Balochistan faces a double threat by the banned TTP as well as Baloch militants.

The incidents of terrorism have increased in Pakistan since the Taliban took over the government in Kabul, dashing hopes in Islamabad that a friendly government in Afghanistan would help to tackle militancy. Wednesday's attack comes after a lull in violence and terror activities in the Balochistan province since the February 8 general elections.

According to an annual security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023 - marking a record six-year high.

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