Baloch nationalist leader Talal Akbar Bugti passes away

KARACHI: Senior Pakistani politician and Baloch nationalist leader Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti passed away in Quetta today after suffering from cardiac arrest.

Talal Bugti, 63, the son of former chief minister of Balochistan and Baloch nationalist leader late Nawab Akbar Bugti, was a senior leader of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), which was founded by his father.

His father, a hugely popular figure in the Baloch nationalist movement, was killed in a military operation in Balochistan during former dictator Pervez Musharraf's regime.

Talal Bugti, who spent the last years of his life pushing for the sentencing of Musharaf over the killing of his father, was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Quetta late last night after suffering from a heart attack.

Talal Bugti had visited Islamabad last week for a medical check-up and had returned to Quetta in reportedly better condition.

He was the fourth son of Nawab Akbar Bugti and leaves behind three sons.

Bugti took over the JWP presidency after the death of his father Akbar Bugti in 2006.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed sorrow and grief over the demise of Talal Bugti.