"The body is in an advanced stage of decay as it had been badly crushed under a big boulder," Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director-general Major-General Shaukat Sultan said. He died on Saturday when his mountain hideout was attacked by military forces trying to arrest him. Officials have said the cave collapsed after an unexplained explosion and have denied trying to kill him.
Reports said authorities would move to restrict the number of mourners at his funeral after trouble flared following funeral prayers on Tuesday. "The Balochistan government is contacting Bugti's relatives for his burial," Sultan said.
Army engineers were digging late into the night to find more bodies, with Bugti's the only one recovered so far. Troops have cordoned off the area and the recovery operation was taking place under high security, Sultan said.
He added that doctors had identified the body as Bugti's but did not say whether there would be a post-mortem examination. The body will be handed over to his relatives. Analysts have raised fears that the killing risked enflaming passions in Balochistan and radicalising the province's insurgency.
BUSINESS RECORDER CORRESPONDENT ADDS FROM LAHORE: Earlier, addressing a press conference, information minister Muhammad Ali Durrani said the body of Nawab Akbar Bugti would be recovered in the next 24 hours. He said the opposition had been exposed before the nation due to its irresponsible attitude. To another question, he said situation in Balochistan was fully under control and normalcy would return soon.