1,500 rebels surrender in Baluchistan

Pakistani policemen patrol a street littered with debris and burning items in Quetta yesterday during a demonstration staged following the funeral of rebel tribal chief Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was killed in a military operation last week. PHOTO: AFP

They had been "misguided" by tribal leader Khair Bukhsh Marri to take up arms against security forces and attack government installations, APP said.

Surrendering in Thardari town in Kohlu district, they promised to now support the government, the report said.

Weapons handed over included rocket launchers, machine guns, Kalashnikov rifles, missile and explosives, the news agency said.

The surrender follows the killing of the chief of rebel Bugti tribe, Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military strike on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a mob set buildings ablaze and set off homemade bombs yesterday in a third day of unrest in Pakistan after the army's killing of a popular rebel tribal chief, police and witnesses said.

The crowd started rampaging through the streets in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, after funeral prayers for Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was killed on Saturday.

The mob torched a local bank and set a district government building alight, setting off plumes of thick black smoke, an AFP reporter said. Four makeshift bombs exploded in shops near the venue of the prayers.