8 Armed Assailants Shot Dead After Multiple Blasts At Pakistan's Gwadar Port

Multiple blasts were reported at Gwadar Port Authority Complex in Pakistan on Wednesday, Makran Commissioner Saeed Ahmed Umrani told Dawn.com.  Heavily-armed Baloch militants allegedly entered the complex forcefully and opened fire.

Meanwhile, Gwadar Senior Superintendent Of Police Captain (Retd) Zohaib Mohsin told Dawn.com that “eight armed assailants have been successfully gunned down by the police and security forces”. He said that the firing had completely stopped.

The Express Tribune reported that the attackers were neutralised while trying to gain entry into the port complex.

So far no casualties have been reported.

Earlier Umrani told Dawn.com that a large contingent of police and security forces have reached the scene amid the intense firing.

The United Nations Department for Safety and Security — in a statement — said, “several explosions followed by continuous firing” were reported during the attack on the port complex.

Several government and paramilitary offices are hosted at the complex grounds, it added. The statement further noted that seven personnel from three Gwadar-based UN agencies and two UN agencies on missions were “safe and accounted for”.

Reportedly, the Majeed Brigade of the banned outfit — Balochistan Liberation Army — has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Formed in 2011, the Majeed Brigade is a lethal guerilla cell of the BLA. Previously, Baloch insurgent groups have carried out several attacks targeting the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

The separatist BLA is opposed to China’s investments in Balochistan and accuses China and Pakistan of exploitation of the resource-rich province. The death squad of the BLA, the brigade mostly hits out at security forces and Chinese interests in Pakistan.

According to an annual security report issued by a think tank — Centre for Research and Security Studies — Pakistan saw 1,545 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023 marking a six-year high record.