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Pakistani policeman dies in riot over rebel's death
Tue Aug 29, 2006 4:21 PM IST160
 

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By Gul Yousafzai

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Security forces exchanged fire with gunmen on Tuesday after prayers were held for a slain rebel leader and one policeman was killed, police said.

Violent protests have erupted across gas-rich Baluchistan province since nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was killed on Saturday in a government assault on his cave hideout in the remote hills of Pakistan's biggest but poorest province.

Police said about 10,000 people attended prayers for Bugti in Quetta, the provincial capital. At the end, some mourners threw stones at police and set fire to government offices, shops and vehicles. Firing soon erupted, a witness said.

"Some protesters have taken positions on rooftops and they are firing at the security forces," said the witness.

A former provincial governor respected by many, Bugti, 79, went underground this year and joined rebels who have waged a low-key insurgency for decades for autonomy and a greater share of profits from Baluchistan's resources.

Provincial police chief Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqub told Geo television that one policemen had been shot dead and one wounded. A shop-keeper was also wounded, a hospital doctor said.

"There is a lot of agitation. They're destroying public property. We're are trying to hold our ground," deputy provincial police chief Salman Saeed told Reuters earlier.

Rioting also erupted in the port city of Gwadar and several other areas, police said. The protesters have attacked government offices, vehicles and homes and shops of people from outside the province.

SUSPECTED REBEL ATTACK

A settler from Punjab province was killed on Monday and another wounded after a grenade was thrown into his house in Quetta, police said.

Earlier, police said suspected rebels had blown up a gas pipeline and electricity pylons near the city of Qalat late on Monday, in what appeared to be their first attack since Bugti's death.

The Baluchistan rebels have no links with Islamist fighters along the Afghan border who have also been battling security forces, security officials say.

Government officials said security forces had not targeted Bugti but he was killed when explosives went off during heavy fighting in a cave, which then collapsed.

The government says his body has not been recovered.

Political analysts and opposition politicians dismissed the government explanation and said his killing appeared to have been intentional.

Opposition politicians speaking in parliament in Islamabad on Monday termed his killing "extra-judicial murder".

Opposition politicians said they, too, would hold prayers for Bugti, after a debate of no-confidence in Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The debate was scheduled before Bugti's death.

President Pervez Musharraf issued a warning to those he said were "against the country's progress and sovereignty" in a speech on Monday and said he was commited to improving conditions in Baluchistan.

Pakistan has accused old rival India of helping the rebels in the province that borders Afghanistan and Iran. India said on Monday Bugti's death was a tragedy and urged talks.

(Additional reporting by Kamran Haider in ISLAMABAD)



© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.


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