ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/PESHAWAR/QUETTA:
The nationwide shutter-down and wheel-jam strike called by the Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP), with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as its principal stakeholder, met with a mixed response across the country on Sunday.
While Quetta observed a near-total shutdown, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa saw partial compliance and life largely went on as usual in Lahore and Islamabad.
The opposition alliance had announced the strike to mark the second anniversary of the February 8, 2024 general elections, which it continues to denounce as “rigged”, and to observe a day of mourning following Friday’s suicide bombing at an Islamabad imambargah that left at least 36 people dead.
In Balochistan, the call appeared to carry the most weight. Quetta witnessed a complete shutter-down and wheel-jam, with shops, markets, shopping malls and bazaars closed and traffic reduced to a trickle.
Mobile internet services were once again suspended. PTI workers, along with activists of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) led by TTAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, staged demonstrations in several parts of the provincial capital.
Clashes were reported in the Brewery and Khaizi Chowk areas along the Western Bypass, where protesters blocked roads by burning tyres and erecting barricades. Police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators and reopened roads after removing barricades.
Similar scenes were witnessed along the Eastern Bypass, while a small protest near Airport Road was also dispersed. Stone-pelting incidents were reported in Chaman, injuring a police constable. PTI’s Balochistan chapter claimed that at least 40 TTAP workers were arrested during the day.
Reports from Chaman, Qila Saifullah, Qila Abdullah, Pishin, Harnai, Duki, Ziarat, Kan Mehtarzai, Muslim Bagh, Loralai, Barkhan, Usta Muhammad and Nasirabad indicated small protest gatherings and attempted road blockades, which were largely dispersed by police.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the response was uneven. A partial strike was observed in Peshawar’s interior city, with shops in Hashtnagri and Rampura closed, while markets in Qissa Khwani Bazaar largely remained open. PTI organised a rally at Chowk Yadgar, where banners were displayed and party leaders addressed supporters.
PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan claimed a shutter-down strike in Haripur Bazaar and a “total public transport wheel jam”, thanking trader and transport unions for supporting the call. In Shangla, large protest rallies were held across Bisham, Alpuri, Puran and surrounding areas, with partial shutter-downs reported.
Addressing protesters, PTI leaders, including Shaukat Yousafzai, termed the 2024 elections “the most controversial in Pakistan’s history” and vowed to continue a peaceful constitutional struggle.
However, in Punjab, the strike failed to significantly disrupt daily life. In Lahore, markets showed typical Sunday activity, with most closures attributed to the weekly holiday and the final day of the Basant festival rather than the strike. Traffic flow remained normal.
PTI called its approach a “silent agitation”, urging citizens to stay home voluntarily, but the call saw limited response.
In Islamabad and Rawalpindi, most markets remained open, including the H-9 weekly bazaar, which witnessed heavy footfall. Several traders cited economic pressures as a reason for remaining open.
While metro and electric bus services were suspended, traffic across the capital remained largely unaffected.
Sindh also saw limited impact, with market closures in Karachi coinciding with a public holiday. PTI leaders nevertheless claimed silent protest participation in several neighbourhoods.
Despite the uneven response, PTI and TTAP leaders framed the strike as politically significant. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja termed it a “constitutional method to express irritation with the system” and called it a day of mourning for the “stolen vote and terrorism”.
K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi congratulated supporters for what he described as a “successful” strike, urging continued peaceful resistance.
In contrast, the government dismissed the call. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz declared “ZERO protest/strike/shutter down in Punjab”, while Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the public had rejected “politics of incitement”.
Federal Minister Amir Muqam also claimed that the people of K-P wanted development, not shutdowns.
