KARACHI: A partial strike was observed in the metropolis on Sunday on a call given by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in protest over the police action against workers of the PTI and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek in Islamabad.

Traffic remained thin, petrol pumps remained closed in some areas, where business and commercial activities were also affected. In the evening, shops and other commercial activities were resumed, but a tense calm prevailed in the city due to the protest sit-ins by different political and religious parties.

“No killing was reported in Karachi since midnight till Sunday evening,” said Karachi police chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo.

He said that in Lyari gangsters belonging to the Uzair Baloch group torched two motorbikes in a bid to force the people to close their commercial and business activities to make PTI’s strike call a success. However, their attempts were responded by their supposed rival gangsters, led by Noor Mohammed alias Baba Ladla, who threw a grenade at Aath Chowk, causing minor injuries to four persons, added the city police chief.

“No arrest was made from any part of the city as peaceful demonstrations took place and we avoided use of force as per directions of the Sindh chief minister, who chaired a meeting to this effect in which it was decided that peaceful protests would be allowed,” he added.

PTI workers on Sunday morning held a demonstration in Sultanabad near PIDC and blocked the road. However, police rushed the scene to clear the road for vehicular traffic.

In the evening, the PTI and the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) staged sit-ins on Sharea Faisal and at Numaish traffic intersection.

Due to the PTI sit-in, one track of Sharea Faisal leading from Nursery to the Metropole Hotel was closed for vehicular traffic causing hardship and mental agony to motorists and commuters.

The sit-in at the Numaish traffic intersection also resulted in the closure of a portion of main M. A. Jinnah Road.

Contrary to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz policy, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party facilitated the protesters and Sharjeel Inam Memon, the provincial information minister, asked the police to provide security to the PTI protesters and said in a statement that peaceful protest was their democratic right.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2014