QUETTA: A strike was observed in the provincial capital and some district headquarters of Balochistan on Sunday in response to a call by the Pakistan Medical Association to protest against the kidnapping of Dr Ghulam Rasool.

Shops and business centres remained closed in Quetta, Pishin, Chaman, Qila Abdullah, Mastung, Ziarat, Loralai and Zhob.

The PMA’s call was supported by the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Awami National Party, National Party, BNP-Mengal, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Ideological), Jamhoori Watan Party, PML-N, PPP, Anjuman-i-Tajran Balochistan and student organisations.

On Aug 1, Dr Ghulam Rasool, a psychiatrist at the Bolan Medical College, was going home from BMC when he was taken away by armed men.

Doctors in government and private hospitals boycotted their duties after the incident to put pressure on the government to get their colleague freed.

Initially, the PMA also boycotted emergency duties, but later they withdrew the decision. Yet they said the decision would be reviewed if the psychiatrist was not freed until Sunday night.

Meanwhile, activists of the Jamiat Ale Hadith (JAH) held a demonstration at Manan Chowk in protest against the kidnapping of Habibullah Mujahid, the principal of Jamia Salfiya Quetta.

Mr Mujahid was abducted four weeks ago.