ISLAMABAD, Sept 9: A nationwide strike called by the combined opposition on Friday received a limited response in major cities and towns of the country, with the exception of Quetta, Chaman, Loralai and Zhob which were paralyzed for most parts of the day. A partial strike was observed in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar where shops in some areas were closed before Friday prayers. The opposition parties did not make any attempt to force a shutdown though.

Public transport was off the road for some time. However, private cars were on the street almost the entire day.

The main business towns in Punjab, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Sialkot observe Friday as holiday and, therefore, it was difficult to measure the extent of the success of the strike.

In Lahore, the wholesale market remained closed but for the retail market it was business as usual.

While opposition leaders Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Qazi Hussain Ahmed claimed to have enforced a complete ‘wheel-jam’, government ministers described the strike as a ‘total flop’.

Federal Ministers Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Tariq Azim and Muhammad Ali Durrani said the strike had fallen flat.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the failure of the strike proved that people were against opposition’s ‘negative policies’.

Some opposition leaders admitted that public transport operated in most parts of the country, but MMA chief Qazi Hussain said that vehicles only catered to the ‘utmost necessary matters’ and with the consent of the opposition.

In the interior of Sindh, considered to be a stronghold of the PPP, most cities and towns, including Hyderabad, Thatta, Khairpur, Larkana, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas, reacted coolly to the strike appeal.

A partial strike was observed in Sukkur and Dadu. However, the town of Qambar closed down completely.

In the NWFP most towns responded only partially to the opposition’s call. In the interior of Balochistan, the response of the people was largely muted.

In Islamabad, the Aabmara market andG-9 commercial centres remained closed but major markets like Jinnah Super and Blue Area were open.

In Karachi, the strike call was ignored in areas dominated by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, while markets in other areas remained largely closed.

No major untoward incident was reported from any part of the country and law-enforcement personnel were at hand to maintain order. Police arrested 40 activists in Multan and 14 in Okara for violation of section 144.

In Karachi, a bus was set on fire in the Rasheedabad area of Site and incidents of stone-throwing were reported from Landhi, Quaidaabad, Baldia Town and Kalapul areas.

Commuters in Rawalpindi faced difficulties because not many buses and vans were on the road. Long queues of commuters were seen on bus stops on the Murree Road.

While the Saddar Bazaar was closed for the strike the rest of Pindi always closes on Friday. Attendance in government offices all over the country was near-normal. Schools and colleges in parts of major cities reported thin attendance.