July 17, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 13, 1429

THATTA, July 16: A partial strike was observed in the district on call of the supporters and associates of the Shirazis to protest against registration of cases against an MNA of PML-Q, Aijaz Shah Shirazi, and Ayaz Shah Shirazi and others on Wednesday.

Out of total nine talukas of the district, Thatta, Mirpur Sakro, Mirpur Bathoro, Sujawal remained completely closed due to the strike.

In other areas; Gharo, coastal towns of Jati, and Chuhar Jamali, people shut down their businesses for some time. However, they reopened their shops and businesses when some People’s Party activists arrived there and asked them to do so.

Heavy police contingents kept patrolling all day on the main roads and link roads of the district. In Mirpur Bathoro, Daro and Sonda police arrested about a dozen of the Shirazi activists.

Earlier, on Sunday police registered FIRs against 30 people on charge of their being involved in an armed clash in which three people had died. Two groups — the Moondhas and the Bikaks — had clashed over the ownership of a plot near Makli Charhi.

The head of the Shirazis had alleged that the SP Investigation of Thatta had falsely implicated the Shirazis in the case.