QUETTA: A strike was observed in Quetta on Wednesday in response to a call given by the Awami National Party (ANP) to protest against the reported modification in the Gwadar-Kashgar route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

The strike call was backed by Anjuman Tajran, the three factions of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, PPP, Hazara Democratic Party and PML-Q.

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Trading centres and shopping plazas on Jinnah Road, Prince Road, Shahra-i-Iqbal, Kasi Road, Liaquat Bazaar, Zargham Road, Joint Road, Satellite Town and Airport Road remained closed.

Supporters of the ANP and JUI-Ideological were instrumental in making the strike effective.

However, government offices, banks and educational institutions went about their in normal fashion. Traffic was by and large normal.

ANP’s provincial president Khan Achakzai at a press conference thanked traders and political parties for lending support to the strike call.

He said that through a sit-in held outside the Balochistan Assembly building on Tuesday and the strike observed on Wednesday people had rejected Islamabad’s aspiration to redesign the corridor’s route. He urged the federal government to respect people’s wish and follow the original plan of connecting Gwadar with Kashgar via Khuzdar, Quetta, Zhob and Dera Ismail Khan.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2015

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