Thursday, April 09, 2009

Pakistan: Violence Breaks Out In Balochistan After 3 Nationalist Leaders Killed

Pakistan: Violence Breaks Out In Balochistan After 3 Nationalist Leaders Killed
(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD - April 9, 2009: Violence broke out in some parts of southwestern Pakistan on Thursday after dead bodies of three leaders of nationalist groups found. Angry protesters torched a United Nations vehicle in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, and also attacked banks and several government buildings, the News Network International (NNI) news agency quoted police as saying. A Pakistani policeman walks past burning tyres set alight by protesters in Karachi April 9, 2009. The protesters were demonstrating against what they said were the killing of political activists in Balochistan. Police officer in district Turbat Ayaz Baloch said bodies of the chief of Baloch Nationalist Movement (BNM), Ghulam Muhammad Baloch, leader of Baloch Republican Party, Sher Muhamamd Bugti and BNM leader Lala Munir were found late Wednesday night. They were kidnapped last Friday from the office of a local lawyer by unidentified gunmen, police said. People took to the streets in Quetta after the bodies were identified on Thursday morning and attacked vehicles and buildings, police said. The police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters. Baloch leaders alleged that the nationalist leaders were kidnapped by the government people, the charge denied by the authorities, according to the NNI. Witnesses said that the slain Baloch leaders were shot dead after they were kidnapped. No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and killings. The government has put the security forces on alert in Balochistan to counter nay backlash of the incident.

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