Security forces killed tribal chieftain and Jamhoori Watan Party leader Nawab Akbar Bugti in a major military operation in Balochistan, Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told AFP on Saturday. "I can confirm that Akbar Bugti was killed in the operation," the minister said. "Further details are coming and we cannot confirm any other information."
At least 25 elite commandos and more than 30 tribal militants were also killed in the fighting near Dera Bugti town, close to a mountain hideout in the province where Bugti was sheltering, security officials said.
The colourful British-educated Akbar Bugti, who was in his 80s, fled his former stronghold earlier this year following a crackdown by the military.
He has been accused of operating private jails and running a feudal justice system in the area in addition to being blamed for the deaths of dozens of soldiers and policemen.
The clampdown on Bugti was sparked by a rocket attack during a visit by President Pervez Musharraf to Balochistan in December.
Security officials said forces on Friday launched air strikes against a cave complex in the mountains on the border of Dera Bugti and Kohlu districts where the chieftain was hiding.
The missile raid destroyed the entrance to the rocky hideout and the commandos moved in on Saturday to carry out a "cordon and search operation," one security official told AFP.
Heavy fighting broke out as the militants returned fire, killing several soldiers including the leader of the commando team, the official said.
The soldiers eventually secured the area and ascertained that Bugti was among the dead militants, he added, without giving further details.
The operation was continuing, officials said. The officials were privately downplaying speculation that Bugti's death could provoke retaliation by the militants and that the instability could spread even further.
Hundreds of Bugti's aides had recently accepted a government amnesty offer and handed in their assault rifles and rocket launchers, while locals had reportedly tired of his battles with the army.