Pakistani security forces kill 2 gunmen who attacked convoy of Chinese engineers

Balochistan [Pakistan], August 14 (ANI): Security forces in Pakistan have killed two gunmen who attacked a convoy of Chinese workers in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province, according to the army’s media affairs wing. 

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) released a statement confirming the attack on a convoy in Balochistan but not on the Chinese people. 

ISPR said that “Terrorists attacked a military convoy” in the district Gwadar, where they used small arms and hand grenades during the activity.

“On 13 August 2023 at 1000 hrs, Terrorists attacked a military convoy in district Gwadar. Terrorists used small arms and hand grenades during the activity, however, due to efficient and swift response, two terrorists were sent to hell with no harm to any military or civil persons,” ISPR said in its statement.

“Security Forces of Pakistan remain determined to thwart efforts of the enemies of peace and prosperity in the country,” it further added. 

The convoy, carrying Chinese people, was attacked in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Sunday, according to China’s Consulate in Karachi. 

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Chinese Consulate said that no Chinese citizens were killed or injured. 

“At 9:17 on August 13, local time, the convoy of the Chinese project in Gwadar Port encountered a roadside bomb attack and gunfire on its way back to the port from Gwadar Airport. No Chinese citizens were injured or injured. The Chinese Consulate General in Karachi strongly condemns this terrorist act and has asked Pakistan to severely punish the perpetrators and take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens, institutions and projects,” according to the statement. 

“The Consulate General has activated the contingency plan as soon as possible, reminding local Chinese citizens, enterprises, and projects to be vigilant, upgrade security measures, prevent security risks, and pay close attention to the security situation to ensure safety,” it added. 

Former president Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack on the convoy, according to Dawn citing a statement issued by his party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). 

He also called for “bring in the grip of law the planners” of the attack and lauded the soldiers for their retaliatory action and stressed the need to eliminate terrorists. 

In the past few years, an increase has been observed in attacks on Chinese citizens in Pakistan over the past few years amid a spike in incidents of militancy in the country. 

In July 2021, 13 people, including nine Chinese workers, died in a bus attack near the Dasu hydropower plant in the Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In April last year, three Chinese teachers and their local driver were killed when a female suicide bomber had blown herself up at the entrance of the Confucius Institute on the premises of Karachi Univerity. 

Five months later, a young Chinese man was shot dead while a Chinese dentist couple were critically wounded when a man posing as a patient entered their clinic in a busy commercial area of Saddar in Karachi and opened indiscriminate fire on the victims, as per Dawn.