Militants behead govt official in Baluchistan

Suspected tribal rebels kidnapped and beheaded an administration official in the restive southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan, officials said yesterday.

The official, identified as Shahzad Bugti, was kidnapped along with two guards on Saturday and his headless body was found on Sunday near the town of Dera Murad Jamali, region's administrator Abdul Samad Lasi told AFP.

A note found with the bullet riddled body of Shahzad read that anyone opposing the rebel chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti would meet the same fate, Lasi said.

Shahzad's security guards were still missing and a case has been registered against Haji Juma Khan Bugti, a Baluchistan lawmaker and relative of Nawab Akbar Bugti, said.

Shahzad was investigating claims of land ownership by Kalpar tribes who oppose Nawab Akbar Bugti and have recently repatriated to their villages under a government-sponsored programme from neighbouring Sindh province, Lasi said.