New Delhi: Two military bases in the Pakistani province of Balochistan were attacked on Wednesday night. According to the Pakistan army, one soldier and four insurgents lost their lives in the attack. Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) has claimed the responsibility for the attack.
The attacks happened overnight, just a few hours before Prime Minister Imran Khan left the country for Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympic Games, according to a Reuters report.
Prime Minister Imran Khan issued a statement in the same regard and said on Thursday, “We salute our brave security forces who repulsed terrorist attacks.”
BLF said that explosive-laden cars were positioned at the entrance of the military bases by its suicide bombers.
The army revealed that both these attacks from Wednesday night had been repulsed. One took place in the Panjgur district and the other in the Naushki district.
This attack comes after another insurgent attack that took place a week ago on a post near the port of Gwadar on the Arabian sea. This attack killed 10 soldiers, which is the heaviest casualty toll that the army has seen in the Balochistan insurgency in years.
For decades now, the ethnic Baloch guerrillas have been fighting against the government as they feel that the central government of Pakistan has been unfairly exploiting Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources.
China is currently investing in this resource-rich province of Balochistan. It is involved in the development of various projects including the development of Gwadar port. It is a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that is a part of China’s Belt and Road initiative and costs $60 billion.
Insurgents also attack these Chinese projects and kill their workers, even though Pakistan has assured that it is doing its best for the safety of these endeavours. Pakistan has even accused India of secretly supporting the insurgents, which India denies.