Five people lost their lives in a terror attack aiming the Pearl Continental in Gwadar. Six people including two army captains, two navy soldiers, and two hotel employees were injured as gunmen raided the luxury hotel. The assault was asserted by the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army. The army declared that security forces had finished the operation at the hotel, killed three terrorists and retained their bodies for tracing. The three terrorists had entered the hotel with the object of targeting hotel guests or taking them hostage. The Quick Response Forces of the army, navy and police instantly reached the hotel, fastened the guests and staff present there, and the terrorists to a fourth floor corridor. After guaranteeing safe evacuation of guests and staff, a clearance operation was introduced to catch hold on the terrorists. During this very moment the terrorists had made CCTV cameras unfunctional and planted hand crafted explosive devices on all entry points leading to fourth floor. Security forces made extra entry points to get onto the fourth floor, shot down all terrorists and cleared planted IEDs. Pakistan Navy soldier was martyred in an exchange of fire, on the other hand four other army and navy captains were hurt. After Gwadar attack, the Balochistan government strengthened security across the province. Chief Minister Jam Kamal chaired a high-level meeting to examine security arrangements in Gwadar and other parts of the province. The army appreciated the media for its proper report during the operation. It enabled the security forces in calm execution of the exercise. This is the sixth terror assault in Balochistan in a month. Prime Minister Imran Khan has depicted the Gwadar hotel attack as a means to hurt prosperity in Balochistan, which is residence to the gem in the crown of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Gwadar port. CPEC has inspired the of separatists who complain that Balochistan does not receive its right share of resources from the Centre, and the prohibited BLA has aimed Chinese workers in Pakistan several times, including during a broad daylight assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi which killed four people in November last year.
The $60billion CPEC project has seen huge investment in infrastructure across Pakistan, including large roads and the Gwadar port in Balochistan province. Latest days have witnessed an increase in brutality in the province, with ethnic Baloch separatist groups’ assault against security forces and civilians. The BLA and other armed groups have been fighting Pakistani defence forces for many years independence for the ethnic Baloch areas of Balochistan province, which they assert claim has been neglected by the Pakistani state and utilized for its mineral resources. Balochistan is positioned in the southwest Pakistan. It is the country’s largest and less populated province, with huge deposits of natural gas, coal, metals and minerals. Rights groups complain that Pakistani security forces have hijacked hundreds of trained Baloch political activists and fighters in their fight to the insurgency. In the past month, Baloch separatist groups a passenger bus en route from Gwadar to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest commercial city, killing more or less 14 people.
Security reasons have been major worries in the construction of the corridor. As stated many Chinese guests were staying in the hotel at the moment and in spite of the fact none were injured, the truth is that gunmen could enter a toughened area will obviously be a reason of worries for both China and Pakistan. There is another factor. The attack, claimed by the nationalist Baloch Liberation Army as one directed against foreign nationals and Chinese investors in Pakistan, shows that there are still many problems lying hidden across the restive province of Balochistan. In the middle of April, 15 to 20 gunmen had ambushed six passenger buses traveling between Gwadar and Karachi and shot dead 14 passengers. Some of them were assumed to be connected to coastal security. The violence running through Balochistan has grave consequences for Pakistan.
There is a risky need to bring peace and peace within a segregated country. The violence has been charged on foreign elements. There are also feelings of injustice and within that province. These need to be solved through dialogue and discussion between all stakeholders, with the entanglement of all of Balochistan’s political parties, so that they can be ultimately resolved. No amount of security can stop haphazard attacks across the huge, scarcely populated territory of the Pakistan’s largest federating unit. Owing to its geopolitical position and its mineral wealth, Balochistan is of great importance to Pakistan. The development of an important port at Gwadar, with the Chinese planning to use it as the point from where goods entering Pakistan from China would be taken to other places, makes this all the more true. Pakistan will need to work with great efforts to soothe unavailable Chinese concerns. The problem of security in Balochistan has arisen before. There are concerns it will rise again. The problem for Pakistan is an inward one and must be discussed more candidly within the country so that more answer can be put forward.
It could have been difficult if our soldiers had not went into punctual action to overcome the three terrorists who stormed into a luxury hotel in the vital Gwadar city their evil purpose to do something big.
It is praiseworthy that law enforcement acted as hurriedly as it did, which may have helped in keeping the number of casualties very low, some questions immediately present themselves. It is surprising that how the militants did entered the luxury hotel, situated at an advantage point, with such obvious comfort and that moreover in broad daylight. These security oversight must be examined comprehensively in the forthcoming days so that any shortcoming can be tapped and moreover violence be avoided.