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Tribal leader killed in Pakistan

Security forces kill dozens in clash in southwest Pakistan

Bugti is shown riding a camel last May in the mountains of the Dera Bugti district of Pakistan.

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LAHORE, Pakistan -- An anti-government tribal leader in Pakistan was among nearly 40 people killed Sunday in a clash with security forces.

Nawab Akbar Bugti, a Balouch tribal leader, was killed in southwestern Pakistan, a government official said.

Riots erupted in the southwestern city of Quetta, the capital of Balouchistan province. Intense firing was taking place, and all the main roads were blocked by Bugti supporters.

Authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew Sunday, according to The Associated Press. More than 200 people violated it, setting tires on fire in the street, police said.

The 79-year-old Bugti was formerly the governor and chief executive of Balouchistan province, as well as an interior minister.

Balaj Murree, leader of the Murree tribe of Balouchistan, also was among the dead, along with at least seven Pakistani soldiers and more than 30 Bugti security men, including two of Bugti's grandsons.

According to The Associated Press, Bugti turned against the government amid disputes over distribution of revenues for natural gas extracted from tribal territories in Balouchistan, Pakistan's largest and poorest province.

The Balouch rebellion has been running off and on for decades, but hostilities escalated in December when militants fired rockets that landed about 300 meters (984 feet) from Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf while he was visiting the town of Kohlu, according to the AP.

There is also wider resentment among other ethnic Balouch across the province over the allocation of state revenues and widespread poverty.

The army put down another tribal rebellion here in 1974, reportedly leaving about 3,000 dead, according to the AP.

Bugti accused the central government of pillaging Balouchistan's natural resources while locals live in poverty, according to AP reports. His death could fuel resentment in Balouchistan, where ethnic rebels routinely blow up gas pipelines and bomb government targets.

CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report.