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| 07 February 2004 | Saturday | 15 Zilhaj 1424 |
Partial strike observed on MMA's call
KARACHI, Feb 6: A partial strike was observed on Friday in all cities and towns of the country in response to the call given by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal
(MMA) to condemn the detention of the father of the country's nuclear programme, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, and other scientists.
Business and commercial activities were affected in Karachi and Quetta, but the effect of the strike was less in other cities including Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.
Main business and commercial centres in Karachi, including Saddar, Empress Market, Boulten Market, Jodia Bazaar, etc., remained closed. However, some shops were open in different localities. Incidents of violence were reported from some areas in which five people were injured.
Heavy contingent of law enforcement personnel were deployed in different cities to avoid any untoward incident. Police arrested many MMA workers in Karachi, Lahore and Quetta for disturbing peace and forcing shopkeepers to close their shops.
Shops in Saddar and Commercial Market of Rawalpindi remained open throughout the day. Similarly, in Islamabad, normal business continued in Blue Area, Super Market and Jinnah Super Market. However, partial strike was observed in Aabpara Market and Karachi Company. Transport continued to ply on all routs as per routine.
People in Lahore did not pay heed to the strike call, and continued to run their business and commercial activities. The flow of vehicular traffic was also normal. Though some people tried to force shopkeepers to close shops, the police picked them up.
In Peshawar, the strike call was almost completely ignored as people in general carried out their routine business and commercial activities. The main business and commercial centres, markets, bazaars, and shops remained opened.
In Quetta, markets remained closed in the main city area as they observed Friday as holiday.
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