While the Baloch Liberation Army, fighting the Pakistani establishment and army for over a decade for the freedom of the Balochistan province, attacked a five-star hotel overseeing the Gwadar port, Pashtun-Baloch activist has come out in open support for it.

The BLA also claimed, as against the contention of the Pak forces, that the attack which was carried out by three Baloch freedom-fighters claimed the lives of at least five Chinese nationals associated with the $60bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project between Pakistan and China.

The BLA also claimed that it killed 16 security personnel also during the attack. The Gwadar port has been developed with massive Chinese investment as part of the CPEC.

According to sources, the Pashtuns and Balochs could further turn up the heat against Pakistan's military establishments centred in and around Rawalpindi, Karachi, Islamabad and Bahawalpur.

Pashtun rights activist and senior journalist from Waziristan in Pakistan and who is living in exile in Afghanistan Imtiaz Wazir said these were not "terrorists", but "freedom fighters".

"Our zero condemnation to the attack on PC Hotel in Gwadar, claimed by The BLA was principled & sign of unity & solidarity. We struggle, politically & peacefully for revisiting the colonial Durand Line. Similarly, We support #FreeBaluchistan,#FreeSindhudesh & #FreePunjab," he said on
Twitter.

"To put the record straight. Freedom fighters & terrorists must be differentiated. Terrorism was always the worst kind of all evils, everywhere. But, the fight for #FreeBaluchistan was always a holy & sacred war. Freedom & dignity is
right to everyone. Get lost Punjab, Get out China," he added.

Ethnic Balochs have upped the ante against the Chinese and Pakistani establishment in the recent past. Balochs have long contended that their region, which is blessed with natural resources, such as minerals and metals, has been exploited by the Pakistani and Chinese, but they have not benefitted from it.

The extreme underdevelopment of the region is the handiwork of the Pak establishment and hence their demand for freedom from Pakistan. There have, however, been a score of forced disappearances of Pashtun and Baloch activists for which the Pak deep state has been accused.