'Bugti killing to radicalise anti-Pakistan insurgency'

Nawab Akbar Bugti, who had been leading a violent struggle against the central government over the region's natural resources, was killed in a military strike Saturday in the restive province.

The killing sparked deadly rioting in Baluchistan over the weekend, and analysts warned there could be more trouble on the horizon.

"It's a blunder and a disaster. It creates more problems than it solves," political analyst Talat Masood told AFP.

"His death has turned him into a martyr and people will idolise him. Youths particularly may derive inspiration from him and turn rebellious," Masood, who is a retired military general, said.

"It will fuel Baluch nationalism and aggravate it."

The general said that there was no military solution to the problems of resource-rich Baluchistan, where a rebellion has simmered over the past two years.

"You have to address it politically and through the development of the Baluch people and integrate them into the national mainstream," he said.

Others analysts said any relief felt by President Pervez Musharraf over Bugti's elimination would likely be short-lived.

"In the long run it is going to create more problems for President Musharraf," political analyst and a former professor of political science Hassan Askari told AFP.

"His (Musharraf's) problems have increased with this incident. There are already troubles with India and problems in Waziristan," Askari said.

Pakistan has fought three wars with nuclear-armed rival India and their two-year peace process is at stand-still, while 80,000 Pakistani troops are deployed in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to combat pro-Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.

Askari said the already alienated people of Baluchistan could try to assert themselves and further radicalise the insurgency.