4 killed as armed militants storm 5-star hotel in Pakistan's Gwadar port city: police
Karachi, May 11: Three heavily-armed militants on Saturday stormed a luxury hotel in Pakistan's port city of Gwadar in the restive Balochistan province, leading to a fierce gunbattle in which four persons including the attackers were killed, police said.
The armed men entered the upscale Pearl Continental (PC) Hotel and opened random firing, a senior police official said.
They shot dead a guard at the entrance, the army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
A shootout between the militants and the security forces broke out at the hotel as the anti-terrorism force, the Army and the Frontier Corps were called in, Gwadar Station House Officer (SHO) Aslam Bangulzai said.
Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langov said that all the three attackers were killed by the security forces.
He said that some of the guests in the hotel were also injured but their number was not immediately known.
The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility of the attack which it said was carried out by the militants linked with its Majeed Brigade group.
Locals said several gunshots were heard after the terrorists entered the luxury hotel.
Gwadar port is one of the focal points of the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with many Chinese workers from other provinces of Pakistan working at the port.
The hotel, frequented by business as well as leisure travellers, is located on the Koh-e-Batil hill, south of West Bay on Fish Harbour road in Gwadar.
All foreign and local guests staying at the hotel had been safely evacuated, Express Tribune quoted Balochistan Information Minister Zahoor Buledi as saying.
"At around 4:50 pm (local time) we got reports that there are two to there(three) [sic] armed men in PC Hotel," SHO Bangulzai said.
"Two to three gunmen had first fired at and then entered the hotel," Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohsin Hassan Butt said.
"A clearance operation was going on," a spokesman of the army said.
The provincial police chief further said that "the attackers may have come in a boat to launch the attack".
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani condemned "the terrorists attack" on PC Hotel, and instructed the authorities to "ensure the safety of all inside the hotel", Dawn news reported.
He called for a "well planned and strong action against the terrorists", adding that he is "in touch with police and local administration" regarding the situation.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan's largest and poorest province, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.
On April 18, unidentified gunmen donning uniforms of paramilitary soldiers massacred at least 14 passengers, including Pakistan Navy personnel, after forcing them to disembark from buses on a highway in Balochistan.
China is investing heavily in Balochistan under the CPEC.
The CPEC, launched in 2015, is a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking China's resource-rich Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with Pakistan's strategic Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea.
The BLA is one of the most-organised terrorist group of Baloch nationalists fighting against security forces. The group was also involved in the terrorist attack at the Chinese consulate in Karachi last year.
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Parliamentary panel to summon airline executives, regulator over flight disruptions
New Delhi (PTI): A parliamentary panel is likely to summon top executives of private airlines and the civil aviation regulator over the mass cancellation of IndiGo flights that has left thousands of travellers stranded across the country's airports.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, chaired by JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, is likely to seek an explanation from top executives of airlines and officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation about the cause of disruption in air services and possible solutions.
A member said the panel has taken serious note of the difficulties faced by thousands of passengers due to disruption in air services.
Even parliamentarians, who were in the national capital for the Winter Session, faced the brunt of flight cancellations by IndiGo and delays by other airlines, the panel member said.
Several MPs also received complaints from people about air fares shooting up due to the scenario.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Brittas, who is not part of the standing committee on transport, has demanded setting up of a joint parliamentary committee or a judicial inquiry into the large-scale disruption of flights.
IndiGo cancelled more than 220 flights at Delhi and Mumbai airports on Sunday, as the disruptions entered the sixth day even as efforts were on to normalise operations.
The aviation regulator, DGCA, on Saturday sent notices to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO and Accountable Manager Porqueras, seeking explanation.
In a statement issued on Sunday, IndiGo said the Board of Interglobe Aviation, its parent company, has set up a Crisis Management Group, which is meeting regularly to monitor the situation. The company's Board of Directors is doing everything possible to take care of the challenges faced by its customers and ensure refunds to passengers, it said.
