Islamabad: A strike called by a political party Tuesday brought life in violence-hit Karachi city to a standstill.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) strike paralysed life in Karachi, where all major markets, petrol and CNG stations and most private offices remain closed and traffic was off the roads.
Major organisations of traders and transporters supported the MQM call and said they cannot do business in an uncertain environment.
The toll from ethnic and target attacks reached up to 100 over the past week, Xinhua quoted police and hospital sources as saying.
Nearly 300 people were killed in July alone.
The MQM, which mainly represents the Urdu-speaking people in Karachi, called for a strike in Karachi to condemn the violence and mourn the deaths.
Senior MQM leader Farooq Sattar said Monday that miscreants have targeted ethnic Urdu-speaking people during the fresh wave of violence in Karachi.
There has been sharp increase in violence after last week’s killing of a former parliamentarian Waja Karim Dad in a hand grenade attack in the Lyari area of Karachi.
The slain former lawmaker belonged to the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.
