April 16, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17, 1427

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QUETTA, April 15: A complete shutter-down strike was observed on Saturday in almost the entire province against the merger of the levies force into police and the ongoing operation in Dera Bugti and Kohlu districts.

The strike call was given by opposition parties, including the four-party Baloch Allaince Balochistan National Party, Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) and the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD). Trade Organisations also supported the strike call.

Shops, markets and business establishments remained closed in Quetta throughout the day.

Though their was no restriction on the movement of traffic during the strike but traffic remained thin in city areas as people preferred to stay indoors. Poor attendance was observed in government offices.

However, schools in and around Quetta remained unaffected by the strike.

The provincial government had taken strict security measures and deployed heavy contingents of law-enforcement agencies in the city to avoid any untoward incident during the strike.

Police arrested the chairman of a trade organisation and three others, who were forcibly closing down shops. No untoward incident was reported from the provincial capital.

According to reports, the strike was observed in Chaman, Hub, Kalat, Khuzdar, Loralai, Mastung, Nasirabad, Sibi, Pishin, Wadh, and Zhob.

Online Adds: Other cities where a complete strike was observed included Dalbandin, Dera Murad Jamali, Kuchlak, Mand, Nushki, Panjgur and Turbat.