A Pakistan Hotel Attack by terrorists is currently underway at the Pearl Continent Hotel in Pakistan’s Gwadar port city.
Reports have confirmed the presence of three suspected terrorists inside the hotel. The exchange of gunfire is underway between terrorists and security forces, the reports said. Gunshots also heard around the hotel.
Zahoor Baledi, spokesperson of Balochistan government says the terrorists inside the hotel also have hand grenades. He said all the people present inside the hotel have been evacuated safely.
Pakistani website, The Express Tribune says that both navy and army has been pressed into the operations and the area surrounding the five-star hotel has been cordoned off.
Balochistan, home to a long-running insurgency, is Pakistan’s poorest and least developed province.
Gwadar is the focal point of a multi-billion-dollar Chinese investment project and the hotel is said to be used by foreign tourists and business people.
The schemes, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative, are opposed by some militant groups, including Baloch separatists, who say they are of little benefit to local people, the BBC’s Jill McGivering says.
It is unclear how many people were at the hotel when the attack happened at around 16:50 local time (11:50 GMT).
Several militant groups operate in Balochistan, including the Pakistani Taliban, the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army and the Sunni Muslim extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
The attack comes just weeks after 14 people, including 11 security personnel were killed by gunmen near Ormara in Gwadar.
