A partial strike was observed on Thursday in most parts of Sindh over a call given by the Save Sindh Movement against the Local Government Ordinance passed in the province recently. Rallies were taken out in many cities by the nationalist parties which include the Sindh United Party (SUP), Sind Taraqi Pasand Party (STPP) and the National People's Party (NPP).
Police stopped a rally that was taken out in Hyderabad whereas several workers of a political party were reportedly injured in a clash between rival groups in Kandhkot. Most educational institutes were closed due to the wheel-jam and shutter-down strike call announced. Markets and shops remained closed and vehicular traffic remained sparse on the roads.
A complete shutdown was observed in Umerkot, Kunri, Samaro, Ghulam Nabi Shah town, Dhoro Naro, Dadu, Jamshoro, Mithi and other towns whereas partial strike was being observed in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur, Larkana and Karachi cities of the province. A heavy contingent of police had been deployed in the province to avoid any untoward incident.
Nationalist leaders Mir Amanullah Talpur, Mohammad Ali Junejo, Abdul Karim Mangrio and others said the people of Sindh had announced the rejection of the new ordinance and that they would never let any 'anti-Sindh decision" to be implemented. It may be noted that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Awami National Party, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional had earlier announced support for the strike but later withdrawn the call to observe mourning for the victims of the factory fire tragedy in Karachi.