Convoy of Chinese engineers attacked in Pakistan's Gwadar — militants

A Pakistani Army personnel looks on during the opening of a trade project in Gwadar port, some 700 kms west of Karachi on November 13, 2016. (AFP/File)

• Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by Baloch nationalists for around two decades
• The separatists say they are fighting what they see as unfair exploitation of the province’s wealth by federation, the Pakistani state denies it

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

“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 on a convoy carrying Chinese engineers, but there was no immediate official response. 

In the past, various Baloch separatist groups have claimed attacks on projects linked to the massive China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, with thousands of security personnel deployed to counter threats against Beijing’s interests. 

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