QUETTA: A partial strike was observed in Balochistan on Sunday in response to a call by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to condemn the assassination of party leader Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro in Sukkur on Saturday.

Businesses remained closed and traffic negligible in Quetta and different district headquarters in the province.

JUI-F supporters gathered on national highways and burnt tyres, blocking for hours traffic to and from Quetta, Karachi, Taftan, Chaman, Sibi and Jacobabad.

A group of protesters assembled on the railway line near Abdur Rehmanzai area of Qila Abdullah district as a result of which a Chaman-bound train could not move ahead for some time.

According to reports, the strike was observed in Zhob, Loralai, Musakhel, Qila Saifullah, Pishin, Ziarat, Qila Abdullah, Nushki, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Hub, Sibi and Nasirabad districts.

Published in Dawn, December 1st , 2014