LAHORE, Aug 31: The opposition parties have expressed their resolve to make their shutdown call a success today (Friday), claiming support of traders as well as common people, while on the other hand, the city administration and police vowed to deal with the `troublemakers’ with an iron hand.

According to police high-ups, about 8,000 policemen have been deployed to maintain law and order in the city to deal with Friday’s strike call given by the opposition to protest Nawab Akbar Bugti’s killing.

City Police chief Additional IG Khwaja Khalid Farooq warned that those who would try to create law and order situation would be dealt with strictly. He directed the divisional SPs to take all necessary measures to maintain law and order in their respective areas.

Meanwhile, DIG (operations) Aamir Zulfiqar khan, presiding over the meeting of the SPs here on Thursday, said all measures had been taken to provide security to traders who wanted to do their routine business. Plainclothesmen would also be deputed in busy business centers to keep a vigil on `troublemakers’, he added.

Mr Khan said a control room had been established in his office to maintain coordination between different departments and also to meet any eventuality. He also directed the officers to monitor the police patrolling in their respective areas and coordinate with the representatives of trade markets.

On the other hand, MMA’s Hafiz Suleman Butt claimed while talking to Dawn that representatives of some big city markets had assured the alliance leadership of their participation in the strike and some more traders were being contacted for the purpose.

Saying people were agitated over Akbar Bugti’s killing, Butt hoped it would be a complete shutdown. He claimed that the city’s major business areas, including Anarkali and Shahalam markets, had pledged total support for the call, while negotiations were going on with those doing business in the areas like Liberty and Barkat Market.

“It is not politics, but matter of country’s integrity,” he said. The MMA also differed with the political views and practices of the late Bugti. But, the way he was killed was not acceptable to any person having democratic approach, he added.

There were no other plans but to pull the shutters down throughout the city, he clarified.

PPP’s Punjab information secretary Farzana Raja was also optimistic about the strike call’s success as she briefed journalists on the issue after a provincial central committee meeting. She said strike was vital for the integrity of the country.

Making it clear that it was a shutdown call, and not a wheel jam, she said every patriotic Pakistani should join the strike because the opposition was fighting for country’s integrity.

Flanked by MPAs Rana Aftab and Ghulam Abbas, she condemned Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi for supporting Pervez Musharraf’s “bold steps” in Balochistan. She said by saying so, the chief minister was representing establishment’s point of view rather than that of the common man. She said the chief minister had proved his loyalty to the military dictator by supporting him over the issue.

Condemning the `murder’ of Akbar Bugti, she said: “Attack on Bugti was in fact an attack on the solidarity of Pakistan, and will have long-term consequences for the viability of the federation and the country.”

Ghulam Abbas said the Liberty Market blast was a sign of Baloch frustration, and added that the people of Punjab were with Baloch people on the issue.

CDGL: The city district government authorities, along with police officers, held meetings with various traders’ bodies in a bid to seek their `cooperation’ against the strike call.