LAHORE, Feb 6: MMA's call for strike on Friday received no response in the Punjab capital as all markets remained open and did normal business.

The strike appeal was made to express solidarity with the nuclear scientists, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan in particular, who had either been detained or were being investigated on suspicion of involvement in nuclear proliferation.

Observers say that the lack of response does not mean that the people are not willing to stand on the side of those who made the country a nuclear power. Instead, they might have chosen to ignore the call after a comprehensive Thursday press conference given by President Musharraf on the subject, in which he answered all the questions in public mind and strongly defended government's action against some scientists.

The MMA had to face an embarrassing situation as only a few dozen people turned up at Masjid-i-Shuhada where the religious alliance had declared it would hold its main protest meeting before Friday prayers.

A few nearby shops kept their shutters down when some non-entities addressed the protesters in the absence of central or provincial leadership. It was the poorest ever show by the six-party alliance on one of the most crucial issues facing the country. Lahore MMA President Mian Maqsood Ahmed was the 'star speaker'.

He said a cabinet in which the NAB-accused and lackeys of imperialism were also present had no justification to decide the fate of Dr AQ Khan who, he said, was the benefactor of the nation.

The MMA leader said it was strange that nuclear scientists who had done a great service to the country by making its defence invincible were being debriefed while those responsible for the dismemberment of what was once the biggest Islamic state of the world had never been investigated.

Mian Maqsood used derogatory language against those who were keeping their shops open.