KARACHI – A shutter-down strike was observed in almost all cities and towns of Sindh on Friday in response to a strike call by the PPP to protest the SC’s verdict declaring NAB Chairman Justice (r) Deedar Hussain Shah’s appointment illegal.
A partial strike was observed in Karachi, as shops remained closed in many areas of the city – mostly Sindhi and Baloch-dominated areas – including Lyari, Shanti Nagar, Sachal Goth, Malir and Gulshan-e-Hadeed, and public transport was scarce. Commercial activities were also affected in Saddar, North Nazimabad, New Karachi, Korangi, Orangi Town, Kharadar, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and other areas of the city.
Educational institutions also remained closed and exams were postponed, and attendance at government offices was low. Commercial activities also came to a halt in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, Khairpur, Thatta, Dadu, Jamshoro, Ghotki, Jacobabad, Kambar-Shahdadkot, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Matiari, Badin Sanghar and other cities and towns of the province.
Political observers told Pakistan Today that with this strike, the PPP wanted to convey a message to the MQM that it possessed street power in Karachi as well.
VIOLENCE: Seven people were killed and several wounded in firing in various areas of Karachi in violence that erupted in the city on Thursday night. Armed men on motorcycles roamed the streets in commercial areas and forced people to shut down their shops. Police said that the pesh imam of Siddiqia Masjid in Korangi Y area, Mahmood Hussain Shah, was shot dead by unidentified men near the mosque.
Separately, unidentified men shot dead Tariq Lashkari in the Garden area. A man named Aslam was also shot dead near the KMC workshop. In another incident, a man identified as Sheeta was gunned down near Spencer Eye Hospital. Shokat Hussain was shot dead near Shinwari Hotel. Two men suffered bullet wounds in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area.
A man named Israr was shot dead in Ranchore Line, and a young man identified as Talha was also gunned down in Nayabad, Lyari. Sixteen vehicles were torched in various areas of the city, while two vehicles were set ablaze near Bilawal House. Not a single arrest was made. The MQM Rabita Committee called upon the “haq-parast” (righteous) people of Karachi to wake up and come forward to save the city.
