Two terrorists were killed by security forces after they attacked a military convoy in Balochistan’s Gwadar on Sunday morning, according to the army’s media affairs wing.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the terrorists carried out the attack at 10am, using small arms and hand grenades.

“However, due to the efficient and swift response, two terrorists were sent to hell with no harm to any military or civil persons,” the statement said, with the military expressing its resolve to “thwart efforts of the enemies of peace and prosperity in the country”.

An earlier statement by the ISPR said the operation was launched in the area after the presence of terrorists was reported, adding that one militant had been killed and three others injured during the exchange of fire with security forces.

Separately, China’s consulate in Karachi said the attacked convoy was carrying Chinese workers.

“A Chinese convoy from the Gwadar port project was hit by roadside bombs and gunfire on its way back to the port area from the Gwadar Airport,” it said in a statement on its website, adding that “no Chinese citizens were killed or injured”.

According to it, the attack took place at 9:17am.

The consulate asked Pakistan to “severely punish the perpetrators and take concrete and effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens, institutions and projects”.

The statement said the Chinese 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”.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack on the convoy, according to a statement issued by his party, the 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.

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, had 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 had entered their clinic in a busy commercial area of Saddar in Karachi and opened indiscriminate fire on the victims.

4 terrorists killed in Bajaur

The security forces also killed four terrorists and arrested one during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district today.

According to the ISPR, security forces conducted an operation in Charmang last night after receiving reports about the presence of terrorists. During the operation, “intense fire exchange occurred between security forces and terrorists,” it said in a statement.

’“Four terrorists were sent to hell while one terrorist was apprehended,” the ISPR said.

The statement went on to say that weapons, ammunition and explosives, including a suicide vest, were also recovered from the militants, “who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces and killing of innocent citizens, especially suicide blasts”.

The ISPR added that 24-year-old Sepoy Muhammad Shoaib was martyred in the gunfight.

“Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area. Security forces of Pakistan remain determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from Pakistan,” the ISPR said.

Pakistan has seen an uptick in terror activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the outlawed TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.

A report released by think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies in July said the first half of the current year witnessed a steady and alarming rise in terror and suicide attacks, claiming the lives of 389 people across the country.

On July 12, as many as 12 soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom in separate military operations in the Zhob and Sui areas of Balochistan. This was the military’s highest single-day death toll from terrorist attacks reported this year.

The Foreign Office (FO) had later confirmed the involvement of Afghan terrorists in the Zhob attack.

Additional reporting by Nadir Guramani