Quetta, September 2
Dramatic developments emerged again in Baluchistan on Saturday with Maulana Abdul Malook Bugti, the imam of the Dera Bugti mosque, saying that he was not sure whether the person for whom he had recited funeral prayers and buried was actually the slain Baloch leader Akbar Khan Bugti.

Simultaneously, the sons and grandsons of the late Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) leader and former Baluchistan Governor and Chief Minister turned the heat on the Musharraf regime, by demanding a DNA test of the disfigured body that was lowered into an unmarked grave in the Dera Bugti cemetery on Friday morning amidst claustrophobic security and secrecy, without any family member being present.

Abdul Malook Bugti's sensational statement that he was not certain about actually burying Akbar Khan Bugti has added fuel to the Baluch fire and grist to the rumour mongering in the corridors of power.

"I said yesterday what I have to say. There is nothing more to add. I am not sure whether it was Akbar Bugti's body or not," a cornered Maulana said.

Meanwhile, the grief-stricken people of Baluchistan and the family of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, including his surviving sons Talal Bugti and Jameel Bugti, and grandsons Brahamdagh, Mir Aali and Tabish Bugti, have rejected the Pakistan Government and the Pakistan Army's claim that the body that was buried in the Dera Bugti cemetery on Friday was that of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.

Jameel Bugti said he doubted that the body buried yesterday was actually that of his father. He demanded that a DNA test be conducted on the buried body in the presence of an international medical board to prove the real identity of the body buried.

Jamil said that his family had demanded of the government to hand the body over to them in Quetta because the Nawab's heirs were present there, but the government decided to carry out the burial in Dera Bugti.

The Baluchistan government did not contact the family members for the burial, he said further.

Similarly, Bugti's son-in-law, Senator Agha Shahid Bugti said: "Unless the body of Nawab Bugti is handed over to his heirs, we would not believe the government has really buried him."

Jamil Bugti criticised the military for burying his father's body in Dera Bugti and not in Quetta.

"The government was scared the people would show their anger if my father was buried in Quetta. They buried him in Dera Bugti, where there are no family members present, so they can cover up this cold-blooded killing. It's unethical and immoral. We and the entire Baloch nation are not surprised over this act by the military, which has no regard for values," he said.

Senior Baloch leader Ataullah Khan Mengal said on Saturday that the Baluchis were determined to intensify their struggle for self-determination and economic rights, and there would now be no looking back till this objective was achieved.

The combined Opposition, which has been having several meetings over the Bugti killing issue, has said that their protests against the Musharraf regime will continue, as Nawab Akbar Bugti should never have been the target of the military operation in the Bhambore Hills.

Opposition members in the Pakistan Senate have demanded a special session to discuss the fallout of Bugti's killing on the federation, and to express solidarity of the people of Punjab, Sindh and the NWFP with those in Baluchistan.

Islamabad, September 2
The Corps Commander of Quetta, Lt-Gen Hamid Rab Nawaz, on Friday gave corps commanders a detailed presentation about the situation in Baluchistan arising out of the death of Jamhoori Watan Party leader Nawab Akbar Bugti in an operation in Kohlu on August 26.

The heads of intelligence agencies briefed the special conference, presided over by President Pervez Musharraf, on the overall law and order situation in the country.

Sources suggested that the presentation included a video covering some aspects of the cave operation.

The sources quoted General Musharraf as saying that nobody was above the law and that the writ of the government would have to be established throughout the country at all costs.

The conference discussed the political situation in the country with reference to the Kohlu episode. The failed vote of no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the annulment of the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills by the Supreme Court also came under discussion.

The president said that if the country had to progress then the government would have to ensure peace and tranquillity. He said peace was necessary also for improving the economy and attracting local and foreign investment.

He said the overall law and order situation in provinces was satisfactory. He took the corps commanders into confidence on the situation along the country’s eastern and western borders.

The commanders reposed full confidence in the leadership of President Musharraf and supported his internal and external policies, the sources added.

Teheran, September 2
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan began a visit to Iran today as the country’s hardline President vowed to pursue its controversial nuclear programme, which the West fears is aimed at developing atomic weapons.

The visit comes two days after Iran failed to meet a UN deadline for suspending its enrichment of uranium, paving the way to possible sanctions against the Islamic republic.

Mr Annan flew into Teheran around midday local time today, said Mr Abkar Ghasemi, a Foreign Ministry spokesman.

The nuclear dispute was to top the agenda for the UN chief’s two-day meetings, but Mr Annan is also expected to press Teheran to assist in implementation of the UN-sponsored cease fire in Lebanon, whose Hezbollah guerrillas are believed to receive major financing and weapons from Iran.

The official IRNA news agency said Iran’s nuclear programme and the Lebanon situation will dominate Mr Annan’s talks.

Mr Annan, who is on a tour of the crisis-wrecked Middle East, is expected to seek Teheran’s support for the UN resolution that halted Israeli-Hezbollah fighting on August 14. The resolution also called for a beefed-up UN force of 15,000 troops to deploy in the south to enforce the peace.

In Teheran, Mr Annan will meet top officials including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. — AP

Dubai, September 2
UAE aviation officials have denied claims that the Indian pilot, who was killed after his plane crashed into a mountain in Oman, was a trainee.

The Emirates Flying School said Tejas Kwana, 23, was a licensed pilot qualified to fly the single engine Piper Cherokee 28 that crashed on Tuesday at Al Madha.

Kwana had obtained his Private Pilot Licence (PPL) six months ago and was in fact one of the best students of the college, an official said.

A spokesman for Dubai Civil Aviation Authority said it might take up to three months before the cause of the accident would be ascertained. — UNI

London, September 2
Fourteen British armed personnel died when their aircraft flying a NATO mission crashed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said here today.

Twelve were from the Royal Air Force, one was a Royal Marine and the last was a British army soldier, a spokesperson said.

The NATO aircraft came down in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan due to a technical problem, a spokesman for the alliance in Kabul said earlier, stressing it was not shot down.

In a statement, Britain’s Defence Secretary Des Browne said: “This is dreadful and shocking news. I know that people of Britain will join me in sending our deep condolences to the loved ones of those who have lost their lives and to the British military as it deals with the loss of friends and comrades.” — AFP