QUETTA, May 30: Hundreds of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam supporters staged a protest demonstration here on Sunday against the killing of Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai and demanded immediate arrest of the murderers.

They gathered in front of the main mosque of the city in the afternoon with placards and banners inscribed with slogans against the killing and the government. They chanted slogans against President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad.

The demonstrators led by Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leader MNA Maulana Noor Mohammad and Balochistan Minister Hafiz Hussain Ahmed Shoradi marched on the Circular Road, Mezeem Chowk, Kandahari Bazaar and Manan Chowk.

Speaking to the demonstrators, Noor Mohammad condemned the killing and termed it part of a conspiracy against the religious leadership of the country. He criticized the government and held President Musharraf and the Sindh governor responsible for the incident.

He said the government was implementing the agenda of the United States, that wanted to eliminate religious personalities. He said ulema, tribesmen and other people in the country were not safe and the government had failed to protect their life and property.

He demanded the Sindh governor's removal from his post. Provincial Minister Local Government Minister Hussain Ahmed said the federal government had failed to protect people. He demanded immediate arrest of the killers.

Jamhoori Watan Party Secretary-General Agha Shahid Bugti, commenting on the incident, expressed sorrow over the death of the scholar. He said Pakistan and the world had been deprived of a person who had spent his life in the promotion of Islam.

"Despite the killings of many important people, no minister has resigned," he said. He demanded immediate arrest of the killers. Former Balochistan chief minister Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali said the government should take steps for exposing those involved in the attack.

Fiqa Jafaria leader Maulana Najfi Mehdi termed Mufti Shamzai's death a loss of the Ummah and said the killing was a part of a conspiracy to defame Pakistan and Islam. He said the government should take steps for stopping terrorist attacks at Imambargahs and other religious places.

Provincial Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Maulana Abdul Haq Hashmi said the killers were the same people who had opposed the Taliban's government in Afghanistan and fought against it. He asked the government to ensure protection of religious leaders. National Party leader Mir Jan Mohammad Buledi said the government should take action against the people and groups involved in terrorism.