At least three gunmen have attacked a five-star hotel in Gwadar in Pakistan's Balochistan province.

Armed militants shot dead a guard as they stormed the exclusive Pearl Continental compound where they are believed to be holed up in a staircase surrounded by security forces.

The Balochistan Liberation Army, a terrorist group fighting for autonomy in the south-west of the country, has claimed responsibility for the attack which they say was plotted to hit back at 'Chinese and foreign investment'.

Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langu said there appeared to be casualties but the extent of the bloodshed is not yet clear.

Local media outlets are reporting that armed militants stormed the exclusive Pearl Continental (stock image)

The Pearl Continental is the only luxury hotel in Gwadar, formerly a small fishing village in Balochistan which is mired in ethnic and sectarian infighting

He said the 'majority' of guests had been evacuated and the security forces are battling back the militants.

'There are reports of a few people sustaining minor injuries,' he added.

Mohammad Aslam, the on-duty officer in Gwadar, said he could hear gunfire but that the operation was coming to an end.

'There were no Chinese or Pakistani guests in the hotel', he said, adding that only staff were present in the building.

Balochistan is mired in ethnic and sectarian infighting and is rife with militants including the Pakistani Taliban group, Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army.

The Pearl Continental is the only luxury hotel in Gwadar, formerly a small fishing village, and is where foreign and Pakistani business delegations as well as diplomats stay when visiting the city.

It sits isolated on a ridge overlooking the Gwadar port, which is the flagship project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The Balochistan Liberation Army, a terrorist group, has claimed responsibility for the attack

The mammoth $60bn construction project seeks to connect the western Chinese province of Xinjiang with Gwadar, on the Arabian Sea.

It includes a 244-mile highway from Peshawar to Karachi scheduled to be completed this year, a new highway, airport and hospital at Gwadar port.

The port will provide China with safer and more direct access to the oil-rich Middle East than the waterway trade route it currently uses through the narrow Malacca Straits.

But it has also drawn its share of attacks, particularly from separatists who have long complained that residents do not receive a fair share of profits from the province's resources.