QUETTA, Aug 31: The situation in Quetta and most of the towns of Balochistan remained calm on Thursday amid tight security but some incidents of violence were reported in Khuzdar, Panjgur and Tump areas.

Markets and business establishments opened in the provincial capital after five days of strikes.

The road link between Quetta and the rest of the country was restored. Local busses and other traffic plied on the roads.

Passenger coaches, buses and minibuses left for Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad Peshawar and other cities in the morning.

Business activities also resumed in Sariab, Sabzal Road, Brewery Road, Hudda and Spiny Road areas.

Heavy rush was witnessed in the markets where people bought vegetables, meet, chicken and other necessary items in large quantities because of the strike called by the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy for Friday and supported by all opposition parties.

However, complete strike was observed in Khuzdar till noon, most of the shops in the town opened later.

A group of people attacked a diesel engine workshop in the evening and set it on fire. The workshop was gutted. Police arrested eight people for the attack.

Political parties claim that police have arrested over 100 political workers and students during the past four days in Khuzdar.

Protest also continued in Tump town in Makran against the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti.

Protesters torched the official residence of a judicial magistrate and a vehicle of the Water and Power Development Authority.

In Panjgur, a mob attacked and torched the offices of the agriculture and Zakat departments. A tractor was also set on fire.