2 troops killed in landmine blast in SW Pakistan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Two Pakistani paramilitary troops were killed and another three injured in a landmine blast in southwest Pakistan on Wednesday, the home minister of Balochistan province said.

The blast occurred in the remote Sibi district of Baluchistan when a patrolling vehicle of Frontier Corps -- a paramilitary force deputed in the province to control law and order -- was struck by a landmine killing two troops on the spot.

The home minister of Balochistan, Mir Sarfraz Bugti confirmed the incident, and told reporters that the security forces would not be cowed down by these "cowardly" attacks, local Geo TV reported.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the latest in a string of ambushes on the security forces across Balochistan by sectarian outfits, and the Baloch separatists who have been fighting for cessation of mineral-rich province from Pakistan.

With its 600-km-long coastline, Balochistan is a key route for the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (PCEC), a $54 billion mega project which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinxiang province to Balochistan’s Gawadar port through a network of roads, railways and pipelines to transport cargo, oil and gas.

The economic corridor will not only provide China cheaper access to Africa and the Middle East but will also earn Pakistan billions of dollars for providing transit facilities to the world’s second largest economy.

The aggressive joint venture annoys the South Asian nuclear giant, India, which sees the project as a threat to its interests in the region, and has openly declared its opposition to that.

The project is also facing opposition from Baluchistan’s separatists who see this as "yet another bid by Islamabad" to steal their resources with the help of China.

In the past, Chinese workers have been attacked, killed and kidnapped in southwestern and northwestern Pakistan, including in the area of the port in Gawadar, by Baloch separatists and Taliban militants.

The large Baluchistan province, which is also considered to cover parts of neighboring Iran and Afghanistan, is strategically important because of the rich presence of copper, zinc and natural gas but has been beset by violence for over six decades, with separatists claiming that it was forcibly incorporated into Pakistan at the end of British rule in 1947.