HYDERABAD, March 7: A shutter-down strike was observed in Umerkot city on Wednesday to protest against an attempt by the personnel of a secret agency to pick up two Hindu traders after one of them refused to succumb to pressure of an agency official to make some advance payment to a landlord.

Business activities came to a halt in Anaj Mandi, Shahi Bazaar, Khar Bazaar, Marui Market, etc, as none of the shopkeeper opened shops.

Later, negotiations were held between the traders and the officials of the district government and the agency in the office of Taluka Nazim Khalid Soomro. District Nazim Faqir Maggan Mangrio, DCO Riaz Soomro, DPO Lal Mohammad Abro, Taluka Nazim Khalid Soomro and an officer of an intelligence agency from Mirpurkhas attended the meeting, besides some traders.

The officials urged the traders to call off the strike and assured them that there would be no recurrence of such incidents. They admitted that the official of the intelligence agency had exceeded his jurisdiction by involving himself in a matter of civil nature.

The traders including, Lal Malhi and Mohammad Ali Nagori, said that the strike would be called off in the evening, but asked who was going to ensure that the official would not react against the traders in future.

They were told that an inquiry had been ordered in the matter against the officer and he ‘has been or will be’ transferred from the area.

On Tuesday, agency personnel tried to pick up traders Lal Malhi and Jhaman Das. The latter had been pressurized by an agency official to make some advance payment to Sarwar Ali Pali, who deals in cotton and chillies, but the trader refused.

Lal Malhi was targeted because he supported Jhaman Das.

funds for SHRINE: Mazhar Ali Shah alias Nazan Sain, younger brother of the custodian of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s shrine, on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of Rs500 million for the renovation and expansion of the shrine by the prime minister’s and Sindh chief minister, reports our bureau.