Daily Times

Security forces have completed the clearance operation at a luxury hotel in Gwadar during which all three terrorists who stormed the facility were killed, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release said on Sunday.

During the operation, as many as five individuals, including four hotel employees and a Pakistan Navy soldier, embraced martyrdom, while six individuals, including two army captains, two Pakistan Navy soldiers and two hotel employees, got injured. Bodies of the terrorists have been held for identification, the ISPR said.

According to the details released by the military’s media wing, the terrorists attempted to enter the hotel aimed at targeting and taking hostage the guests present at the premises. At the entry, a security guard challenged the terrorists denying them entry into the main hall. The intruders then went to the staircase, which was leading to the upper floors. “Terrorists opened fire resulting into martyrdom of security guard Zahoor. En route to stairs, terrorists kept firing indiscriminately resulting into martyrdom of three more hotel employees Farhad, Bilawal and Awais while two others were injured,” the ISPR press release said.

Quick reaction forces of army, navy and police immediately reached the site, secured guests and staff present at the hotel and restricted terrorists within corridor of the fourth floor. After ensuring safe evacuation of guests and staff, clearance operation was launched to take on the terrorists. Meanwhile, terrorists made close-circuit television cameras dysfunctional and planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on all entry points leading to the fourth floor, the ISPR said. The security forces made special entry points to get into the fourth floor, shot down all terrorists and cleared the planted improvised explosive devices.

In exchange of fire, Pakistan Navy soldier Abbas Khan embraced martyrdom, while two army captains and two Pakistan Navy soldiers got injured.

ISPR Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor thanked entire media for responsible reporting and coverage of the operation. “This actually denied terrorists of possible live updates and thus facilitated the security forces in smooth execution of the operation,” the statement concluded.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility of the attack on Saturday, saying in a statement the attack was aimed at Chinese and other foreign investors. The hotel, on a hillside near the port, is used by foreign guests, including Chinese project staff, but there were none of them in the building at the time of the attack, officials earlier said.

Gwadar is a strategic port on the Arabian Sea that is being developed as part of the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is itself part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure project.

CPEC has drawn the ire of separatists who complain that Balochistan does not receive its due share of resources from the Centre. The banned BLA has targeted Chinese workers in Pakistan multiple times, including during a brazen daylight attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi which killed four people in November last year.

The Chinese Embassy in Islamabad has strongly condemned the attack on the hotel. “We appreciate courageous steps taken by Pakistan Army and security agencies,” the embassy said in a statement, extending condolences to the relatives of the martyred. The embassy also extended its wishes for speedy recovery of those injured in the attack.

In the aftermath of Gwadar attack, the Balochistan government has tightened security across the province. Chief Minister Jam Kamal chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday to review security arrangements in Gwadar and other parts of the province.

This is the sixth terror attack in Balochistan in one month. On April 12, 20 people were killed and 48 others injured in the Hazarganji market blast targeting Quetta’s Hazara community. The same day, two people were killed in a blast targeting a Frontier Corps vehicle in Chaman.

Less than a week later, 14 passengers were offloaded from a passenger bus on the Makran Coastal Highway and shot dead by unidentified assailants.

On May 9, a tribal elder and two others were killed in a blast in Qilla Abdullah, and on May 10, two coal miners and three FC men were killed in a blast in Khost.