PAKISTAN: Protests renewed in Karachi after funeral of nationalist rebel chieftan Nawab Akbar Bugti who was killed in fighting with government troops

Two paramilitary soldiers were killed and several policemen were injured in scattered incidents of violence in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi on Friday (September 1). Angry mobs blocked roads, burnt tyres, pelted stones on moving vehicles and attacked police in mostly Baluch dominated areas in the city. The police fired shots in the air, and threw tear gas to disperse angry protesters who have gathered after the funeral of Baluch rebel leader. Nawab Akbar Bugti. Bugti, nicknamed the "Tiger of Baluchistan", was killed on Aug. 26 during an assault on his hideout in the remote hills of gas-rich Baluchistan. His death sparked violent protests across Pakistan's poorest and least populated province. The 79-year-old rebel, a one time chief minister of the province and a federal government minister, led an increasingly violent campaign to win decades-old demands for autonomy and a greater share of profits from the province's resources. The campaign included attacks on gas facilities, security forces and infrastructure, but it was a rocket attack on a Baluch town during a visit by President Pervez Musharraf last December that made the army launch an uncompromising offensive during which hundreds of people are said to have been killed. Analysts say Bugti's slaying could inflame opposition in Baluchistan and stir up other parts of Pakistan where resentment of the army and Punjab province's domination have simmered since the country's formation nearly 60 years ago. Bugti's body was retrieved on Thursday (August 30) from the rubble of a cave where he had been hiding with his most loyal fighters. Samad Lasi, an administrator in Dera Bugti, said the burial was hurried because the body was decomposing. It is Muslim custom to bury the body as soon as possible after someone dies. Jamil Bugti, one of Bugti's five sons, protested that the body was not handed over to the family for burial and said he did not believe his father's body was in the coffin. Officials say Bugti's family were contacted to attend the funeral. But a Muslim cleric who performed the last rites confirmed that the body inside was that of Bugti. "I have recognised the body," said the mullah, Maulana Malook. The government says Bugti and an unknown number of his men were killed when the cave they were in collapsed after a huge explosion during fighting. The government says security forces did not intend to kill Bugti, but opponents and analysts say they doubt that. Musharraf, who took power after a coup in 1999, has drawn criticism for using overwhelming force to crush Bugti's revolt. An old-style feudal leader who boasted to a biographer that he killed a man when he was just 11 years old, Bugti had many critics. But in a tribal society where pride and courage are highly valued, Bugti burnished his reputation with his defiance.

ITN Source | September 2, 2006

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