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- March 20, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
According to reports, seven armed attackers forced their way inside the Gwadar Port Authority Complex on Wednesday and started firing before being shot by police and security personnel. Multiple bombs were also reported in the incident, Makran Commissioner Saeed Ahmed Umrani told Dawn.com, adding that the clearance operation against the perpetrators was ongoing. Captain (retd) Zohaib Mohsin of the Gwadar Senior Superintendent of Police initially told Dawn.com that eight armed attackers were shot dead, but he then changed the number to seven. He added that the shooting had “completely stopped” about the assault’s current state.
When the heavy gunfire was still going on, a sizable detachment of police and security personnel had arrived in the area, according to Umrani. As of yet, no casualties have been reported. “Several explosions followed by continuous firing” were reported during the attack on the compound, according to a statement from the UN Department for Safety and Security. The statement also stated that the facility houses several government and paramilitary offices. The statement said there were no early reports of injuries and that seven employees from two UN agencies on missions and three UN agencies with a base in Gwadar were “safe and accounted for.”
The attack has been attributed to the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), namely the Majeed Brigade. Following the proscribed militant group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s termination of its ceasefire with the government in November 2022, there has been a surge in terror activities in Pakistan during the past year, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Following an ambush on two security force vehicles in Gwadar by militants in November, fourteen soldiers from the Pakistan Army lost their lives. When the military vehicles were traveling from Pasni to Ormara in the coastal district, they were attacked.
The Centre for Research and Security Studies released a security assessment last month that stated that there were 97 militant strikes in Pakistan in February that left 118 people injured and 87 people dead. The survey brought to light a marked increase in violence in Balochistan, in contrast to a decrease in tribal districts and KP on the mainland. “Very clear and loud message” Chief Minister of Balochistan Sarfraz Bugti praised law enforcement and security personnel for their response to the attackers, stating that “the message is loud and clear.”
Furthermore, he declared, “The state will show no mercy to anyone who chooses to use violence.” In addition to denouncing the terrorist act, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz praised security officers for stopping it, as per a news release.
Majeed Brigade of the BLA: What is it?
The Majeed Brigade of the BLA is a deadly guerilla group established in 2011. It bears the name of the guard who lost his life attempting to kill PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former prime minister. Indian media has also reported on its existence in Afghanistan, which is also well-documented. Many claim that the gang also keeps sanctuaries in places close to the border between Iran and Pakistan. The BLA’s suicide squad, known as the “brigade,” mostly targets Pakistani security forces and Chinese interests there. It also took credit for the suicide bombing that occurred outside the Confucius Institute of Karachi University in April 2022.
In 2022, it carried out many attacks as well, notably against military camps in the Naushki and Panjgur areas of Balochistan, where the militants engaged security troops in combat for three days. Nine security officers had accepted martyrdom, and twenty terrorists had been killed during clearance operations following the Naushki and Panjgur attacks, according to a statement from the military’s media affairs arm.