QUETTA, March 13: Traders in Quetta and several district towns observed a strike on Thursday in protest against detention of Sardar Akhtar Mengal and workers of the party.

A call for the strike was given by the Balochistan National Party-Mengal which was supported by the APDM, ANP, Anjuman-i-Tajran and student organisations.

All business centres, commercial institutions and shopping plazas were closed.

However, all government and private offices and educational institutions functioned normally and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere. The strike did not affect the vehicular traffic.

The BNP-Mengal secretary general Habib Jalib Baloch thanked the business community for observing the strike and recording its protest against government excesses in Balochistan.

He told newsmen that strike was also observed in Pishin, Loralai, Ziarat, Nushki, Chagai, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Hub, Panjgur, Gwadar, Turbat, Sibi, Dera Murad Jamali and Dera Allahyar.

Mr Jalib accused the government of not providing proper medical treatment in the prison. As a result, he said, the BNP leader’s health had seriously deteriorated.

The BNP leader demanded that all political workers should either be released or produced before courts. Similarly, he said, the missing persons should be recovered.

He also demanded that military operation should be stopped immediately and said that over the past four years the government had failed to suppress the Baloch people struggling for their national rights.