Pakistani rebel leader killed in battle

Islamabad, Aug 27: A prominent rebel leader has been killed in a battle between Pakistani forces and guerrillas in gas-rich Baluchistan province, the government today said.

But the military said while the veteran Baluch nationalist and rebel leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was presumed killed, his death had not been confirmed.

There were also conflicting figures for the casualty toll in the battle in the southwestern province.

Two government officials, including the provincial minister of interior, said 50 or more people -- members of the security forces and rebels -- had been killed in the fighting.

But the military confirmed the death of only four officers and a soldier in the battle yesterday.

''It is confirmed, Nawab Bugti has been killed in an operation,'' Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told Reuters. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao also said Bugti had been killed.

A military spokesman said security forces had attacked a rebel cave complex and exchanged very heavy fire.

During the battle one cave collapsed burying all those inside, including, it was presumed, Bugti, said military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan. His body had not been recovered, he said.

Earlier, an Interior Ministry official who declined to be identified, said 21 members of the security forces and 37 rebels had been killed.

Shoaib Nausherwani, Baluchistan's interior minister, said the toll was about 50.

''Details are sketchy. Initial reports suggest about 50 have been killed but it could be higher,'' Nausherwani told Reuters.

Baluchistan is Pakistan's biggest but poorest province. It also contains Pakistan's main natural gas reserves.

Baluch separatists have long complained that the province does not get a fair share of the profits from its resources and have been agitating for autonomy for years.

PROTESTS

Dozens of people took to the streets of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, after news of Bugti's death. They burnt tyres and threw stones but there were no reports of major damage or casualties.

Troops launched the operation three days ago and swooped on the rebels in helicopters, a security official said.

Bugti, who was born in 1927, was a former chief minister of the thinly populated province of deserts and mountains.

With a shock of white hair and a white handlebar moustache and beard, he was for years one of Pakistan's most distinctive politicians.

A powerful tribal leader, he went underground late last year, joining rebels who have been waging a low-key insurgency for decades.

The rebels have stepped up attacks on infrastructure, including gas pipelines, as well as security posts over the past year.

Security forces have responded with a series of offensives.

Pakistan has accused its old rival, India, of meddling in the province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

The army launched a fresh offensive last December soon after rockets were fired into a town in the province while President Pervez Musharraf was visiting.

Musharraf has announced plans for major infrastructure projects to win support, and says the feudal ways of the tribal chieftains have contributed to the province's poverty.

In the 1970s, the government launched a major offensive to suppress the militants.

Reuters