August 30, 2006	Wednesday	Sha'aban 5, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: Political leaders and parties have condemned the killing of Jamhoori Watan Party chief Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in a military operation on Saturday, saying it would have serious consequences for the country.

Tehrik-i-Istiqlal Chief Air Marshal (retired) Asghar Khan has also condemned the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and termed him a proud Baloch and a patriotic Pakistani.

Expressing sympathy with Tallal Bugti, eldest son of Nawab Bugti, in a telephonic conversation from Abbottabad, Asghar Khan said the manner in which the government had decided to remove Nawab Akbar Bugti from the political scene was unwise and unnecessary.

“Living in a cave far away from both Dera Bugti and Sui, he was no threat to the military regime. To carry out aerial attacks on him was totally unjustified and deserves condemnation,” he said.

Mr Khan said political problems required a political not military solution, and this action of the government would create more problems.

He said Akbar Khan Bugti and he had been together in the “Tehrik-i-Istiqlal” for some time. He extended his deepest sympathies to Tallal Bugti and his family.

PPP: Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has termed Nawab Akbar’s killing a blow to the unity and integrity of the federation. This would further alienate the people of Balochistan from the centre.

The killing of the leader of a democratic political party having representation in the federal and provincial legislatures will have far reaching consequences for the integrity of the federation, she said in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Bugti’s party is a member of the opposition alliance known as the ARD. The former prime minister called for a bi- partisan parliamentary inquiry into the operation which culminated in the death of Nawab Akbar Bugti.

She also called for the restoration of the Constitution as it existed before the 1999 military coup, an end to military operations and curfew in different parts of Balochistan, release of protesters expressing their grief, and handing over Mr Bugti’s body to his family for burial in accordance with their traditions.

Ms Bhutto condoled with the members of Nawab Bugti’s family.

PTI: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) has condemned the murder of the Baloch leader and veteran politician.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, PTI central executive committee member Amir Mahmood Kiani said all the political parties of the country had been stressing on a political solution to the problems of Balochistan, but the government acted ‘insensibly’ and resorted to the use of brute force.

The repercussion, he said, might not be felt in the near future, but such imprudent actions did not auger well in the long run.

“The murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti has proved the fact that being a military dictator Pervez Musharraf has the least regard for the democratic norms of the country,” he observed.