Business activities resume as MQM cuts short strike

MQM chief had earlier called for a shutterdown strike to protest against a 'discriminatory' Sindh budget

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) observed a half day strike in Sindh on Sunday to protest against the new provincial budget.

Earlier, MQM chief Altaf Hussain called for a shutter down strike to register its protest against the Sindh budget, claiming it was 'discriminatory.'

Read: MQM rejects 'feudal-minded' Sindh budget, calls for shutter down strike

However, late on Saturday, the MQM’s Coordination Committee urged people to observe the strike for half a day only in respect of the arrival of the holy month of Ramazan.

MQM chief had also called for the premier's resignation. While speaking to his workers at Nine-Zero on Saturday, Altaf demanded that the PM resigns and get a medical checkup for comparing the killings of citizens of Karachi to that of flies.

Perturbed over frequent strikes in Karachi, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on a trip to the metropolis had said that “even if a fly dies, a strike is called in Karachi” and this "culture of strikes" had severely damaged the national economy.

Read: MQM chief calls for resignation of PM

While the MQM doesn’t seem satisfied with the budget, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon has stated that the new provincial budget is people friendly and includes various public welfare projects.

He said forty-nine billion rupees have been allocated for development of Karachi city in the new budget but unfortunately MQM resorted to strike without going through the budget documents.