A complete shutter-down strike was observed in Quetta on Friday against the kidnapping of a JUI-F leader and the snatching of ANP provincial president’s vehicle from the provincial capital.
The strike call was separately given by the JUI-F and ANP to protest the kidnapping of JUI-F Quetta Secretary General Abdul Sadiq Nurzai and the snatching of vehicle of ANP Provincial President Aurangzaib Kasi.
Sadiq Nurzai was kidnapped by a group of armed men from Sariab Road while he was on his way home on Thursday, while Kasi was deprived of his vehicle by an armed group of criminals. All business centres and commercial establishments in Quetta remained closed for the day. Markets and shops located on Jinnah Road, Abdul Sattar Road, Kansi Road, Almdar Road, Toghi Road, Brewery Road, Mission Road, Mechangi Road, Prince Road, Liaquat Bazaar, Fatima Jinnah Road, Masjid Road, Joint Road and adjacent areas of the city remained shut. The roads and streets wore a deserted look with very thin traffic plying the roads. Routine life in the provincial capital also remained paralysed on Friday. Workers of both the JUI-F and ANP organised protest rallies from Government Science College. The activists marched through various parts of the city and ended the rallies outside the Quetta Press Club. They carried placards and banners inscribed with slogans against the government. The JUI-F rally was led by Hafiz Hamdullah, Quetta chief of the JUI-F, while the protest demonstration by the ANP was led by Aurangzaib Kasi.