Pakistan ? Bombings and shootings killed at least nine people Sunday in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Baluchistan region, while Islamic militants gunned down a cleric near the Afghan border on suspicion he was spying for the U.S. and Britain.

Pakistan has been gripped by increased violence in recent months as Pakistani military forces crack down on tribesmen in Baluchistan who want increased royalties from natural resources extracted there, and in North and South Waziristan, where support for remnants of the former Taliban government in Afghanistan runs high.

About 8,000 supporters of the Baluchistan National Party staged a rally in Quetta calling for independence. However, Abdur Raziq Bugti, a provincial government spokesman, dismissed the calls and vowed security forces would continue operations against terrorists.