Poor law and order: Shutter-down strike observed in Quetta

QUETTA: A complete shutter-down strike was observed in Quetta on Sunday to protest the increasing incidents of highway robberies and kidnapping for ransom around the province. The strike was called by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) soon after party member Muhammad Sadiq Norzai was kidnapped from Quetta. On Saturday, however, Norzai was released by his captors. JUI-F district chief Hafiz Hamdullah said that although Norzai had been freed, the strike call would not be withdrawn in order to continue to lodge protests with the government over the deteriorating law and order situation. The Awami National Party backed the strike call in the wake of its provincial chief being looted by bandits in Quetta earlier. Many JUI-F activists forced shopkeepers to close their shops during the strike in the Brewery and Sarab road areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2012.