KARACHI: A partial strike was observed in the metropolis on Friday on the call of the Karachi Ulema Committee in protest over the assassination of prominent religious scholar Maulana Dr Mohammed Adil Khan.

Maulana Adil, the head of Jamia Farooqia seminary, was gunned down along with his driver by unidentified assailants in Shah Faisal Colony last week.

During the first half of the day, public transport remained thin while markets were closed. However, the situation started to improve after Friday prayers.

All Karachi Tajir Ittehad chairman Atiq Mir told Dawn that all markets and main shopping centres were opened in the city after 3pm.

He said it was a peaceful strike as they did not receive any information about any forced closure in the city.

However, he said that the traders and shoppers had suffered immense financial losses on account of Covid-related restrictions and they could not afford such strikes.

Ulema demand immediate arrest of Maulana Adil’s killers

A representative of a transport body told Dawn that some transporters did not bring their vehicles on the road in the morning. He clarified that the transporters did not support the strike call.

Protest rallies held

After Friday prayers, protest rallies were also taken out in different parts of the provincial capital.

Addressing the protesters, KUC leaders urged the government and state institutions to bring the culprits involved in the killing of Dr Adil to justice.

KUC’s acting head Maulana Iqbalullah, Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqi, Maulana Hazrat Wali, Qari Allah Dad, Mufti Hamadullah Madani, Maulana Rab Nawaz Hanafi, Maulana Mohammed Tayab and others expressed their gratitude to the traders, transporters and the people who closed their business in protest against the failure of the government to arrest the killers of the cleric.

They regretted that there were no concerted efforts on part of the government or law enforcers to arrest the culprits.

The speakers said that religious scholars had been targeted for quite some time but so far no arrests had been made in any case.

The protesters demanded that the authorities accelerate their efforts to arrest the assassins.

They said that those who wanted to spread sectarianism in the country should also be exposed.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2020