A convoy of Chinese engineers working in infrastructure projects in Pakistan's port city of Gwadar came under attack today from two Baloch militants.
The two militants were shot dead, and no Chinese engineer or other Pakistani civilians were injured, reports said.
A large number of Chinese are currently working in Gwadar, the port in restive Balochistan province which is being linked to China's Xinjiang province as part of the $60 billion so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which claimed responsibility for today's attack, opposes the Chinese investments in the region, saying they do not benefit the local people. The BLA has attacked CPEC-linked projects in the past too.
"BLA Majeed Brigade today targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers in Gwadar. The attack is still ongoing," the separatist group said in a statement earlier today.
The BLA claimed it killed four Chinese nationals and nine Pakistani soldiers., and lost two of its fighters.
"I strongly condemn the heinous terror attack on Chinese workers convoy in Gwadar. Thankfully, no loss of life happened, but there are reports that the ambush has been repulsed, and the attackers have been killed," Pakistani senator Sarfraz Bugti posted on X, formerly Twitter.
"The ruptures within the militants' fold are getting wider by the day as our armed forces are courageously thwarting their nefarious designs. There is no reprieve for anyone who casts an evil eye on Pakistan," Mr Bugti said.
India has protested the CPEC project as it runs through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), which is part of Jammu and Kashmir and therefore Indian territory. China has claimed the plan had nothing to do with territorial disputes.
Baloch separatists frequently exaggerate their battlefield successes, while the Pakistan military's public relations department also plays down attacks, or delays reporting them.
Three Chinese academics and their Pakistani driver were killed when a woman suicide bomber detonated her device as they were driving into the University of Karachi's Confucius Institute in April 2022.
The BLA claimed responsibility for that attack.
A year earlier, five people were killed in an attack claimed by Pakistan's Taliban at a luxury hotel hosting the Chinese ambassador in Quetta.
Also in 2021, 12 people -- including nine Chinese workers -- were killed by a blast aboard a bus carrying staff to the Dasu dam site. Islamabad blamed that explosion on a "gas leak" but Beijing insisted it was a bomb attack.
Balochistan is Pakistan's least populous province but rich in mineral resources.
