KHAIRPUR, Feb 25 Partial strike was observed in the town on Wednesday on a call for protest given by the Sunni Action Committee against what it saw as provocative slogans raised by members of a rival sect during a procession held on Tuesday night.

Main bazaars at Panj Gulla Chowk, Mall road, Chhatti chowk and Civic Centre chowk remained closed and some youngsters armed with clubs were seen forcing shopkeepers in others areas to pull down shutters. The committee leaders claimed that members of the rival sect raised objectionable slogans when they passed near their mosques and religious centres.

The district administration, meanwhile, held talks with the committee and persuaded them to end protest by agreeing to register an FIR against the rival sect.

An FIR had been filed on a compliant lodged by an ASI of the A-Section police station against 25 unidentified people for raising objectionable slogans at Panj Gulla Chowk on Tuesday night.