Chinese convoy reportedly included bulletproof vehicles, almost two dozen personnel Chinese mission in Karachi issued safety warning following the incident on Sunday. Naimat Khan Karachi KARACHI: At least two militants were killed on Sunday in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, a local government official said, after a separatist group carried out an attack on a convoy of Chinese engineers in Beijing-financed Gwadar port. The attack on the convoy, which has been claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army, occurred on Sunday morning and was reportedly followed by hours-long intense gunfight with security forces in the province. “Situation under control. Two terrorists killed, the Chinese are safe. Law enforcement agencies are combing the area,” Hamza Shafqat, Balochistan province’s information secretary, told Arab News via WhatsApp. The death toll was also confirmed by Inter-Services Public Relations, the media arm of the Pakistan army, which said that the militants used “small arms and hand grenades.” ISPR said there was “no harm to any military or civil persons.” Sunday’s attack took place in Gwadar, a strategic location central to the multibillion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, project, and occurred a day after Pakistan named Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, who is from Balochistan, as the caretaker prime minister. The Chinese convoy had carried 23 Chinese personnel and comprised three SUVs and a van, all bulletproof, China’s state media tabloid Global Times said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “An IED exploded during the attack and the van was shot at, creating cracks in the glass,” Global Times wrote on X. The Chinese Consulate General in Karachi issued a safety warning following the incident, urging people to maintain high vigilance and strictly control large-scale gatherings due to the “severe security situation.” The separatist group BLA said in a statement that four Chinese nationals and nine military personnel were killed and several were injured, while a local source who requested anonymity for security reasons told Arab News that members of the Chinese convoy had been able to escape unharmed from the attack. Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, chief minister of Balochistan, condemned the “terrorist firing incident” in Gwadar. “The Chief Minister underscored his satisfaction that the incident did not result in any loss of life,” a statement quoting Bizenjo read. “The preservation of enduring peace in the province, including Gwadar, remains a shared commitment of both the public and the institutions. Three Chinese language teachers and their Pakistani driver were killed in April last year, when a blast that also injured several others ripped through their van near Karachi University’s Confucius Institute. The attack was later claimed by BLA.