December 29, 2007	Saturday	Zilhaj 18, 1428

GUJRAT, Dec 28: Skirmishes between Pakistan People’s Party workers and local police continued throughout the city on the second day of killing of Benazir Bhutto as a complete strike was observed on Friday.

Benazir’s security chief Tauqeer Kaira was also laid to rest in Lala Musa. Earlier, around 50,000 mourners attended Kaira’s funeral.

A main scuffle erupted in GTS Chowk when the police resorted to tear gas shelling and aerial firing to disperse around 3,000 protesters who tried to burn a petrol pump owned by Hamza Tariq, a local PML-Q leader.

Though the police action prevented the demonstrators from torching the petrol pump, they had inflicted substantial loss to the filling station’s installations in the meantime. The PPP workers later pelted stones on the police, which retaliated in the same manner and a superintendent of police (SP) and a station house officer (SHO) suffered minor injuries in the ensuing riots. However, no casualty was reported till the filing of this report.

Local PPP leaders Ch Ahmed Mukhtar, Mian Mushtaq Hussain Pagganwala, Nawabzada Ghazanfar Ali Gull, Nasir Samman, Mian Fakhar Pagganwala and others led the demonstrations, who set tyres ablaze in GTS Chowk besides blocking the GT Road early Friday morning in response to the PPP’s call to observe a wheel-jam strike to mark the burial of its lifetime chairperson.

All markets and bazaars of the city remained closed and roads presented a deserted look throughout the day.

The demonstrators removed all the billboards and hoardings of PML-Q candidates Ch Shujaat Hussain and Mian Imran Masood from city roads and burnt their electioneering materials.

The city echoed with anti-Musharraf and anti-Chaudhrys slogans when demonstrators marched on GT Road from Servis Morr to Ramatalai Chowk.

When they were about to set Tariq’s filling station on fire after pouring kerosene oil, local party leaders and the police intervened. However, much damage to the filling devices and pump’s office had been done in the meantime.

The police’s attempt to disperse demonstrators encountered a backlash and Headquarters SP Najeeb Akram Maan, City SHO Masood Bhatti and other personnel received minor injuries.

The PPP workers also staged a demonstration in Jallalpur Jattan. Complete shutter-down and wheel-jam strikes were reported from other towns including Lala Musa, Kharian, Sara-i-Alamgeer, Dinga, Kunjah and Mungowal.