QUETTA: A complete wheel-jam and shutter-down strike was observed across Balochistan on Friday to mark the fifth death anniversary of veteran Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, who was assassinated in a military action in 2006.The strike was complete and masses responded voluntarily to the call of political parties in all parts of Balochistan. No violent incident was reported from any area and the situation remained under control.In Quetta, all the major shopping centres, commercial areas, business houses and even some of the medical stores remained closed. Most of the public transport also remained off the roads. The main City areas of Quetta including, Jinnah Road, Shara-e-Iqbal, Liaquat Bazaar, Abdul Sattar Road, Sariab Road, and Brewery Road presented a deserted look.
Only a small number of people reported to duty in government offices and majority of public servants preferred to stay home owing to non-availability of public transport.Some workers of Jamhoori Watan Party set old tyres on fire on Jinnah Road of the City.Black flags were hoisted on party office buildings while the workers used black arm bands to mark the anniversary.The main strike call was given by the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) and Jahmoori Watan Party (JWP) while other mainstream political parties including Baloch National Front, National Party, the Balochistan National Party (BNP), PML-N and the Jamaat-e-Islami extended their full support to the strike.
Workers of different political parties including the BRP, the NP, the BNP and the Baloch Students Organisation, blocked the main highways, including the Quetta-Karachi highway and the Quetta-Taftan highway, for all kinds of traffic.The workers of JWP staged a demo infront of Quetta Press Club and demanded for immediate arrest of accused persons booked in the murder case of Nawab Bugti.Administration had taken strict security measures in Quetta as police backed by personnel of Frontier Corps, Balochistan Constabulary and Anti-Terrorist Force were deployed on different sensitive areas.Mobile squads of law-enforcement agencies kept patrolling throughout the City to thwart any untoward incident.
Similarly, the strike was also observed in Mastung, Kalat, Mongechar, Surab, Khuzdar, Nal, Wadh, Mashkey, Kharan, Naushki, Dalbandin. Nokkundi, Turbat,Pasni, Gwadar, Jiwanri, Ormara, Panjgur, Mand, Tump, Awaran, Hub and dozens of other towns.Business and daily activities remained suspended in these cities and towns throughout the day as well.Political workers took out rallies in different towns.
Stringent security steps were also taken in all Baloch dominated districts. However, no unpleasant incident was reported from any part of the City. – Nation
