April 11, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 4, 1429

LARKANA, April 10: Police arrested 20 activists of Pakistan People’s Party (Shaheed Bhutto) as they staged protests across the province and effected a complete strike in Larkana on Thursday in protest against acquittal of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari of charges in the Mir Murtaza Bhutto murder case.

All the main trade centres and fuel pumps remained closed and traffic thin on the entry and exit routes of the city heavily manned by police, who were heavily deployed in large numbers in and around the city.

Police had sealed the road leading to Al-Murtaza House where PPP-SB activists were staging a demonstration and a sit-in. Raising slogans, the charged activists then took to the streets and demonstrated outside Jinnahbagh and the press club in the lead of Inayat Umrani, deputy secretary of the party.

The party leaders criticised the decision saying that ‘people’s decision’ was yet to come. Asif Zardari would not go unpunished from the people’s court, they added.

Police picked up Rehan Surhiyo, Shoaib Surhiyo, Moharram Ali Chandio, Deedar Ali, Jago Kalhoro, Ali Raza Soomro, Ashfaque and Badaruddain Selro when they were staging a sit-in and whisked them away to Market police station.

No case was registered against them till the fling of this report.

Partial strike was observed in Qambar town where some PPP-SB activists staged a procession, which started from Brohi locality and terminated outside the press club, where the participants also staged a demonstration.

In Shahdadkot, police arrested Saleem Lashari and Kaliya Brohi of PPP-SB before they could give a call for strike. Police later released them on personal bond.

The leaders blamed police for raiding the houses of PPP-SB leaders late on Wednesday night and arresting more than 20 workers. They also accused police of subjecting the arrested workers to torture at various police stations.

In Hyderabad, People’s Students Federation-SB leaders said during a demonstration outside the press club that Asif Zardari was the main accused in the case and his acquittal was tantamount to miscarriage of justice.

They said that it had clearly proved that the judiciary was not independent and appealed to the Supreme Court to keep Asif Ali Zardari’s name in the list of the accused.

In Naushahro Feroze, PPP-SB activists forced the shopkeepers of Shahi bazaar, Resham Gali and Padidan road to keep shutters down for three hours to observe strike.

Reports said that groups of PPP-SB workers on motorcycles armed with sticks compelled shopkeepers to close their businesses. Some shopkeepers sitting outside the closed shops said that they were forced to observe strike.

Police arrested Sarwar Mari, Murtaza Leghari and Amanullah Rajpar while party leaders Wazir Waghu and Mohammad Khan Vistro claimed that shopkeepers observed the strike voluntarily.

In Shikarpur, police arrested seven PPP-SB activists when they were forcing shopkeepers to close their business in Madeji town and observe strike against the acquittal of Asif Ali Zardari. The arrested activists included Zahid Junejo, Mumtaz Bhutto, Abu Jatoi, Nadeem Mirani and Iqbal Langah.

In Mirpurkhas, scores of workers of Sindh Peoples Youth Organisation-SB staged a demonstration at Market Chowk. The organisation leaders, Malik Munawar Ahmed and Zain Panhwar, demanded arrest of all the accused involved in Mir Murtaza Bhutto’s murder.