Accusing the Army of sowing seeds of hatred among the people, Sharif said PML should now part ways with the military rulers. Speaking from exile in London, Sharif said further damage to Pakistan’s unity could be prevented only if all political parties expressed solidarity with the people of Balochistan. “We may lose the country” in case democratic forces failed to unite, he warned, saying the killing had created a “very serious situation” for Pakistan. Separately, President Musharraf expressed unhappiness over remarks by prominent PML-Q leaders who praised Bugti. Maintaining that the operations against “miscreants” would continue, Musharraf voiced reservation over statements condemning Bugti’s killing. Earlier, PML-Q president Shujat Hussain and former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali praised Bugti and called his killing a “a very sad incident... that should not have happened”.

Mobs ran the streets of Baloch towns through the day, targeting government buildings, banks and business establishments. Karachi too shut down as the protests spread. At least three nationalist lawmakers and 600 protesters were taken into custody as paramilitary forces lobbed teargas shells and fired in the air to control rioters.

A child was killed and eight persons were injured in Pasni, south-west of Quetta. Shops, educational institutions and businesses remained closed in all major cities of Balochistan in response to a general strike called by local leaders.

The 79-year-old tribal chieftain, who had been leading a violent struggle against the government, died along with several of his supporters after troops attacked his cave in Kohlu area, about 200 km east of Quetta, over the weekend. His body is yet to be recovered. The government said that Bugti’s body would be handed over to his family as and when it was recovered from the rubble of the cave.

Rioters ransacked government offices, banks, a national airline office, a hotel and set ablaze several shops in Quetta, Gawadar and Pasni. A mob torched the regional office of the government-run National Bank of Pakistan in Gawadar. The Balochistan Assembly session was aborted for the day and the legislature adjourned for several days following protests from Opposition parties in the House.

KJM VARMA