Police in southwest Pakistan say gunmen have shot and killed the government spokesman in southwestern Balochistan province.
Local officers say that Raziq Bugti died at the scene after unidentified assailants fired a barrage of shots into his vehicle as it traveled through the provincial capital, Quetta.
Bugti served as the spokesman for the provincial government and advisor to the chief minister.
In May, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said that government forces have wiped out nearly all separatist camps in the gas-rich province.
Nationalist rebels have been fighting for decades for a larger share of the profits from the resources of Balochistan, Pakistan's biggest province.
Hundreds of people have been killed in separatist attacks on gas, transport and other energy facilities.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
