'Chemical weapons' killed Bugti

Quetta: The sons of a prominent Pakistani tribal chieftain said yesterday the government killed their father with chemical weapons, and demanded an international investigation.

Nawab Akbar Bugti, 79, died on August 26 when his remote cave hide-out collapsed in an unexplained explosion while security forces were searching for militants in the area.

His eldest son, Jamil Akbar Bugti, demanded that international human rights groups exhume his father's body for tests to determine what caused his death.

Family's home

"We say that chemical weapons have been used to kill Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, and only international organisations can prove our claim," Jamil said as he and his brother held a news conference at the family's home in Quetta, capital of the southwestern province of Balochistan.

Bugti, a former Balochistan governor, had led an often violent campaign for more wealth from resources like oil and gas extracted from his impoverished province.

Protests over his death have left several dead in Balochistan and repeatedly paralysed the province.

Academics and commentators across Pakistan have criticised the government's handling of the case.

The government has accused Bugti of terrorism, but says it had no intent to kill him and is still investigating the blast.

Minister of State for Information Tariq Azeem Khan yesterday said the government has no objection to exhuming Bugti's body for tests. "We will, in fact, welcome such a probe in order to clear any misgivings of the family," Khan told The Associated Press in the capital, Islamabad.

Khan denied that security forces used chemical weapons against Bugti.