Former Premier Nawaz Sharif asked opposition to consider resigning enmasse from Parliament and appealed to Pakistanis to wholeheartedly support the call for general strike on Friday against the army's killing of Bugti on Aug 26.

All transport links besides business establishments are expected to be closed on Friday during the strike. Baloch nationalist parties announced that they too would organise the strike in Balochistan.

Opposition boycotted the National Assembly after raising protests over not being allowed to take part in the debate on the situation in Balochistan.

Addressing a joint Press conference later, PPP-P leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said opposition had submitted the adjournment motion and had the right to debate but government members were also allowed to speak on the Balochistan situation.

Sharif told leaders of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and the Islamist Muthahida Maujlis Amal over phone from London [Images] that the time has come for opposition to resign from Parliament and go to the people.

He said his Pakistan Muslim League-N has already directed its members of National Assembly to hand over resignations to party leadership and the party would abide by any decision by the joint opposition parties.

Sharif said Bugti had been targeted by the government, adding it was wrong to justify his killing in any way.

He said the ever-changing statements of the government about the incident proved that it was concealing facts.

Government's policy of killing political opponents was horrendous for the society, he said adding people cannot be subjugated by bullets.

"Long durations of martial law had always created a sense of deprivation among the people of smaller provinces," he said adding the policies of Musharraf regime had hit the internal harmony of Pakistan.

"Today, Pakistan stands at crossroads and if the agenda of undemocratic forces is not checked, our future will be at stake and the country will plunge into a serious crisis of trust," he added.

While addressing the media outside parliament, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri of MMA said the Balochistan issue should be resolved through law and Constitution instead of force against its innocent people.

Talks are the only solution of all problems, he said, and pointed out that Balochistan was not being paid royalty on gas extracted from its territory.

Another opposition lawmaker Abdul Rauf Mengal said that Bugti was targeted and alleged that chemical weapons were used in the operation that killed him.

He held President Musharraf responsible for Balochistan situation, describing the general as "the killer of Baloch people" and demanding an FIR registered against him.

Meanwhile, reports said MMA was contemplating to quit the coalition government of Balochistan headed by Musharraf-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Q. A decision in this regard was expected in the MMA supreme council meeting to be held in the next few days.