ISLAMABAD – Hammal Khan, whose name is on the list of missing persons in Pakistan, is believed to be amongst the terrorists who carried out an armed attack on Pearl Continental Hotel Gwadar on Saturday.
According to the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) funded anti-Pakistan website Balochwarna News, 35-year-old Hammal Fateh Baloch alias Habib s/o Qadir Khan had been missing for last two years.
On the other hand, renowned journalist Hamid Mir tweeted a picture of Hammal Fateh Baloch, claiming that he (Hammal) is a resident of Makran. Mir also denied the man’s name was on the missing persons’ list.
According to a list of missing persons submitted to the government by Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Mir said, Hammal Khan is a resident of Kohlu.
یہ تصویر حمل فتح بلوچ کی ہے جو پی سی گوادر پر حملے میں مارا گیا یہ کیچ مکران کا رہنے والا تھا کل سے کچھ لوگ اسے لاپتہ افراد میں سے ایک قرار دے رہے ہیں جو غلط ہے۔ سردار اختر مینگل کی طرف سے لاپتہ افراد کی جو فہرست حکومت کو دی گئی تھی اس میں شامل حمل خان کا تعلق کوہلو سے ہے pic.twitter.com/CNVRlouWRz
— Hamid Mir (@HamidMirPAK) May 12, 2019
Here’s the reported Hammal Khan as missing person by BLA funded anti Pakistan website. Hammal Khan is amongst the terrorists who conducted attack on PC Gwadar. pic.twitter.com/yMrq0vGNEp
— TheMystic (@TheMysticLuxury) May 11, 2019
Earlier today, at least three to four gunmen stormed Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar, killing at least one person, says Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
The ISPR statement added that three armed men killed a security guard as they attempted to enter the five-star hotel in the port city of southwestern Balochistan.
All guests at the hotel, which has 114 rooms, were safely evacuated.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant Baloch group funded by Indian spy agency RAW, claimed responsibility for the attack saying that four fighters were involved.
“Our fighters have carried out this attack on Chinese and other foreign investors who were staying in PC hotel,” said Jihand Baloch, a BLA spokesperson, in a statement.
Earlier, Balochistan Home Minister Mir Saleem Ahmad Khosa said a large number of people mentioned in the missing persons’ list had gone aboard for terrorism training.
The minister said that BLA commander Aslam alias Acho had been injured in a gun battle with security forces last year, but he managed to escape and later went to India where he was provided medical treatment.
He said that many BLA commanders had been killed in that operation conducted by security forces. The minister said that India was directly involved in the worsening situation in Balochistan.
Gwadar is the site of a major port built as the culmination of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a trade corridor that links southwestern China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan.
The $60bn CPEC project has seen massive investment in infrastructure across Pakistan, including major roads and the Gwadar port in Balochistan province.
