A strike was observed here and in the surroundings areas on Tuesday in protest against the kidnapping of provincial chief of Jamiat Ahle Hadees Maulana Ali Muhammad Turab, his son and two associates on gunpoint.
Maulana Turab was kidnapped, along with his son, secretary and guard, in the Airport Road area a few days ago. Police said the cleric’s vehicle was found abandoned in the Sheikh Manda area, near the same road.
Representatives of political parties, religious groups and traders’ organisations issued a call for the strike at a press conference held on Saturday. They also called for early recovery of the religious scholar and member of the Council of Islamic Ideology along with his son and associates.
All bazaars, shopping plazas, business centres and trade organisations remained closed throughout the day.
“We closed our business in protest against the abduction of the religious scholar and political leader,” said Shokat Ali, owner of a shop in the Jinnah Road market.
Even medical stores remained closed till afternoon, but hotels and tandoors were allowed to continue their business.
Shopkeepers and traders on the outskirts of the provincial capital also observed the strike.
Vehicular traffic remained thin in Quetta as people preferred to stay indoors.
The administration had made security arrangements by deploying heavy contingents of police, Levies and Frontier Corps at major points in the city in order to keep law and order situation under control.
No untoward incident was reported from any area of the provincial capital as security personnel continued to patrol the main streets and roads till late evening.
Abu Turab, the Balochistan ameer of Markazi Jamat Ahle Hadees, was kidnapped by masked men from Quetta on Friday noon Abu Turab leads the Markazi Jamat Ahle Hadees in Balochistan and is considered to be one of the most influential religious figures in the province.
His son and his guard were also kidnapped by the unidentified gunmen who intercepted Abu Turab’s car on the airport road.
Leaving Turab’s car behind, the kidnappers took the men to an unknown location, according to reports in local media.
DIG Abdul Razzaq Cheema said the police have tightened security to ensure the safe recovery of the cleric and other men.
A search operation was launched in and around Quetta to rescue the religious leader, the police added.
The Jamiat Ahle Hadis, in a statement, strongly condemned the kidnapping and demanded the immediate recovery of its leader.
