KARACHI, Feb 18: A complete strike was observed in the city and other parts of Sindh on Monday on a call given by the Shia Ulema Council and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen in protest against the Quetta carnage, with closure of markets, educational institutions and suspension of legal proceedings in courts.

The protest, which was backed by traders, lawyers, transporters and several political parties, including the Sunni Ittehad Council and Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam-F, resulted in disrupting road, rail and air traffic as sit-ins were organised at a number of places across the province.

Late in the evening, a bomb blast ripped through one of the protest venues, near the FTC building in Karachi, shortly after a daylong sit-in ended there.

Police said the IED had been planted beneath the FTC flyover closer to the Christian cemetery. No casualty was reported in the blast, but a crater was created at the place.

“The IED weighed around 2 kg and the explosive was laced with ball bearings, however it was not clear if a remote control device or cellphone was used in the explosion,” SP Counter Terrorism Cell of CID, Raja Umar Khattab, told Dawn.

“It seems to have been planted to terrorise the participants of a sit-in which was being held at the FTC intersection,” he said.

Participants of the sit-in were vacating the intersection when the explosion took place, police said.

Another low-intensity blast took place near Banaras area, shortly after the FTC explosion. No casualty was reported in the incident. The explosion took place outside the house of one Hussain Bhai.

Opinion

Editorial

New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.
Ceasefire, finally
Updated 26 Mar, 2024

Ceasefire, finally

Palestinian lives matter, and a generation of orphaned Gazan children will be looking to the world community to secure justice for them.
Afghan return
26 Mar, 2024

Afghan return

FOLLOWING a controversial first repatriation phase involving ‘illegal’ Afghan refugees last November, the...
Planes and plans
26 Mar, 2024

Planes and plans

FOR the past many years, PIA has been getting little by way of good press, mostly on account of internal...