Police officer shot dead in Quetta

The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for Liaqat Ali Cheema's killing.

Suspected tribal militants shot dead a police officer in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province and fired rockets at two gas fields, an official said on Monday.

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Liaqat Ali Cheema, who was off-duty, was attacked late on Sunday night near a hotel where he was staying with his family in the town of Dera Murad Jamali, local government official Abdul Samad Lasi said.

Cheema was head of the police station in Dera Bugti, a nearby town at the centre of a conflict between security forces and rebellious Baloch tribesmen.

Azad Baluch, who claims to speak for the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for killing Cheema.

Also, on Monday assailants fired 17 rockets at two gas fields near Dera Bugti but no one was hurt and there was no damage at the facilities, Lasi said.