Islamabad: Pakistan braced itself for a nationwide strike on Friday called by the Opposition moderate and Islamist parties to protest against the killing of the 79-year-old Baloch leader that had also sparked off widespread violence in the provincial capital Quetta.
Authorities in southwest Balochistan braced for violence during the funeral of the Baloch leader, whose body was dug out late on Thursday night from a demolished cave. The strike call was given by the All Party Conference (APC), which asked people to observe a complete strike to protest against the killing of Bugti in a military operation.
The APC meeting on Thursday was attended by members of the moderate Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and
Islamist Muthahida Majlis Amal (MMA). It asked the people to observe Friday as Black Day and express a complete solidarity with the people of Balochistan.
The strike began on Friday morning with the news that Bugti's body has been retrieved by a team of Army engineers, who excavated the collapse cave. Thousands of security forces were deployed in Dera Bugti where the funeral will take place later on Friday.
Reports from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, said the city and province has come to a standstill with complete shutdown. Local TV networks reported that bus and other transport services were off the roads.
The government made heavy deployment of security forces in the city to prevent untoward incidents. The strike was also observed in Islamabad and Lahore. Markets in the two cities were shut down and transport services off the roads.
(With agency inputs)
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